Acanthaceae
Sign in to saveAcanthaceae () is a family (the acanthus family) of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing almost 250 genera and about 2500 species. Most are tropical herbs, shrubs, or twining vines; some are epiphytes. Only a few species are distributed in temperate regions. The four main centres of distribution are Indonesia and Malaysia, Africa, Brazil, and Central America. Representatives of the family can be found in nearly every habitat, including dense or open forests, scrublands, wet fields and valleys, sea coast and marine areas, swamps, and mangrove forests.
AI overview
Acanthaceae is a large family of flowering plants with nearly 250 genera and about 2,500 species, mostly found as tropical herbs, shrubs, and vines concentrated in Indonesia, Malaysia, Africa, Brazil, and Central America. These plants are notably adaptable, thriving in diverse habitats ranging from forests and wetlands to coastal areas and mangrove swamps, making them important components of tropical ecosystems worldwide.
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Taxonomy · GBIF
FAMILY
- KingdomPlantae
- PhylumTracheophyta
- ClassMagnoliopsida
- OrderLamiales
- FamilyAcanthaceae
via GBIF · CC0
Article
10 sectionsContents
- Description
- Medicinal uses
- Phytochemistry
- Overview of systematics
- Dating the Acanthaceae lineage
- Genera
- Excluded genera
- Gallery
- References
- External links
Acanthaceae () is a family (the acanthus family) of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing almost 250 genera and about 2500 species. Most are tropical herbs, shrubs, or twining vines; some are epiphytes. Only a few species are distributed in temperate regions. The four main centres of distribution are Indonesia and Malaysia, Africa, Brazil, and Central America. Representatives of the family can be found in nearly every habitat, including dense or open forests, scrublands, wet fields and valleys, sea coast and marine areas, swamps, and mangrove forests.
==Description== Plants in this family have simple, opposite, decussated leaves with entire (or sometimes toothed, lobed, or spiny) margins, and without stipules. The leaves may contain cystoliths, calcium carbonate concretions, seen as streaks on the surface.