Aphelandra R.Br.

Manzitto-Tripp, Erin A., Darbyshire, Iain, Daniel, Lucinda A. McDade Thomas F. & Kiel, Carrie A., 2022, Revised classification of Acanthaceae and worldwide dichotomous keys, TAXON 71 (1), pp. 103-153 : 142-143

Aphelandra R.Br. in Prodr.: 475. 1810

– Type: Aphelandra cristata (Jacq.) R.Br. ex W.T.Aiton (= A. pulcherrima (Jacq.) Kunth ).

= Orophochilus Lindau in Bull. Herb. Boissier 5: 657. 1897, syn. nov.

– Type: Orophochilus stipulaceus Lindau.

= Rhombochlamys Lindau in Bull. Herb. Boissier 5: 659. 1897, syn. nov. – Type: Rhombochlamys rosulata Lindau (≡ Aphelandra rosulata (Lindau) Wassh. ).

= Encephalosphaera Lindau in Bull. Herb. Boissier, ser. 2, 4: 322. 1904, syn. nov. – Type: Encephalosphaera vitellina Lindau.

Although not sampled phylogenetically in McDade & al. (2005), the monospecific genus Orophochilus is allied to spiny members of Aphelandra . As such, we provide the necessary combination below.

The genus Rhombochlamys was shown by McDade & al. (2005) to be nested within Aphelandra with strong bootstrap support, even though placed phylogenetically by only a single locus. Nonetheless, those data in combination with morphological attributes discussed in McDade & al. (2005) suggest that Rhombochlamys belongs within Aphelandra , and we provide the necessary combination below. Note that R. rosulata Lindau was previously transferred into Aphelandra by D. Wasshausen in 1996.

The genus Encephalosphaera was shown by McDade & al. (2005) to be nested within Aphelandra with strong bootstrap support. As such, we provide the necessary combinations for all species here. Note that no new combination is needed for Encephalosphaera puberula (Leonard) Wassh. , as this was first published under Aphelandra puberula Leonard.

The genus Xantheranthemum was previously included within Aphelandra ( Wasshausen, 1996) , which we follow here.