Aneilema is a genus of monocotyledonous plants of approximately 60 species.[2] The vast majority of the species are native to sub-Saharan Africa, but a few are found in Oceania and one, Aneilema brasiliense, is from South America.[1] It is the third largest genus in the family Commelinaceae after Commelina and Tradescantia, and it is one of only six genera in the family to occur in both the Eastern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere.[2]
Aneilema consists of herbs that may be either perennial or annual. They are characterised by their zygomorphic flowers which, unlike the closely related genus Commelina, usually lack a modified leaf enclosing the flower stalk at maturity. The uppermost leaf on the flowering stalk is often highly modified, however, and in a few species, such as Aneilema clarkei, the upper leaf does completely surround the inflorescence. The flowering stalks of Aneilema tend to be much larger than those of Commelina, with some species having inflorescences of more than 25 cm in length, although some are as short as 2 cm.[2]
Aneilema is a genus of monocotyledonous plants of approximately 60 species. The vast majority of the species are native to sub-Saharan Africa, but a few are found in Oceania and one, Aneilema brasiliense, is from South America. It is the third largest genus in the family Commelinaceae after Commelina and Tradescantia, and it is one of only six genera in the family to occur in both the Eastern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere.
Aneilema consists of herbs that may be either perennial or annual. They are characterised by their zygomorphic flowers which, unlike the closely related genus Commelina, usually lack a modified leaf enclosing the flower stalk at maturity. The uppermost leaf on the flowering stalk is often highly modified, however, and in a few species, such as Aneilema clarkei, the upper leaf does completely surround the inflorescence. The flowering stalks of Aneilema tend to be much larger than those of Commelina, with some species having inflorescences of more than 25 cm in length, although some are as short as 2 cm.
Species Aneilema acuminatum R.Br. - New Guinea, Maluku, Solomon Islands, Queensland, New South Wales Aneilema aequinoctiale P.Beauv. - tropical + southern Africa Aneilema alatum Koord. - Java Aneilema angolense C.B.Clarke - Angola Aneilema aparine H.Perrier - Madagascar Aneilema arenicola Faden - KwaZulu-Natal, Mozambique Aneilema benadirense Chiov. - Somalia Aneilema beniniense (P.Beauv.) Kunth - tropical Africa Aneilema biflorum R.Br. - Queensland, New South Wales Aneilema brasiliense C.B.Clarke - Brazil, Venezuela Aneilema brenanianum Faden - Kenya, Tanzania Aneilema brunneospermum Faden - Mozambique, Eswatini, South Africa Aneilema calceolus Brenan - Kenya, Tanzania Aneilema chrysopogon Brenan - Zambia, Tanzania Aneilema clarkei Rendle - Kenya, Tanzania Aneilema dispermum Brenan - Malawi, Tanzania Aneilema dregeanum Kunth - Mozambique, Eswatini, South Africa; naturalized in Vietnam Aneilema ephemerum Faden - Kenya Aneilema forsskalii Kunth - Ethiopia, Sudan, Djibouti, Yemen, Oman, Saudi Arabia Aneilema gillettii Brenan - Ethiopia, Kenya Aneilema grandibracteolatum Faden - Ethiopia Aneilema hirtum A.Rich. - eastern Africa from Ethiopia to Zambia Aneilema hockii De Wild - eastern + southern Africa Aneilema homblei De Wild - DRC Aneilema indehiscens Faden - eastern + southern Africa Aneilema johnstonii K.Schum. - eastern + southern Africa Aneilema lamuense Faden - Kenya, Somalia Aneilema lanceolatum Benth. - tropical Africa Aneilema leiocaule K.Schum. - eastern + central Africa Aneilema longicapsa Faden - Somalia Aneilema longirrhizum Faden - Northern Province of South Africa Aneilema macrorrhizum T.C.E.Fr. - Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia Aneilema minutiflorum Faden - Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda Aneilema mortonii Brenan - Ghana, Togo Aneilema neocaledonicum Schltr. - Vanuatu, New Caledonia Aneilema nicholsonii C.B.Clarke - eastern + southern Africa Aneilema nyasense C.B.Clarke - southeastern Africa Aneilema obbiadense Chiov. - Somalia Aneilema paludosum A.Chev. - western Africa Aneilema pedunculosum C.B.Clarke - southeastern Africa Aneilema petersii (Hassk.) C.B.Clarke - eastern + southeastern Africa Aneilema plagiocapsa K.Schum. - DRC, Zambia, Angola Aneilema pomeridianum Stanf. & Brenan - Nigeria, Niger, Togo, Benin, Ghana Aneilema pusillum Chiov. - Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia Aneilema recurvatum Faden - Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania Aneilema rendlei C.B.Clarke - Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania Aneilema richardsiae Brenan - DRC, Zambia, Tanzania Aneilema schlechteri K.Schum. - Zimbabwe, Transvaal, Eswatini Aneilema sclerocarpum F.Muell. - Queensland Aneilema sebitense Faden - Kenya, Ethiopia Aneilema setiferum A.Chev. - western Africa Aneilema siliculosum R.Br. - Queensland, Northern Territory Aneilema silvaticum Brenan - Nigeria, Togo, Cameroon, Bioko, Zaïre Aneilema somaliense C.B.Clarke - Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia Aneilema spekei C.B.Clarke - eastern Africa Aneilema succulentum Faden - Kenya Aneilema tanaense Faden - Kwale District of Kenya Aneilema taylorii C.B.Clarke - Kenya, Tanzania Aneilema termitarium Faden - Zaïre, Zambia, Tanzania Aneilema trispermum Faden - Somalia Aneilema umbrosum (Vahl) Kunth - tropical Africa; tropical South America, Trinidad, Costa Rica, Panama Aneilema usambarense Faden - Usambara Mountains of Tanzania Aneilema welwitschii C.B.Clarke - central + southern Africa Aneilema woodii Faden - Yemen Aneilema zebrinum Chiov. ex Chiarugi - - Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, KwaZulu-Natal
