''Suessenguthia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of the

Acanthaceae 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 te ...

plant

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

comprising six species of

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

s with showy, tubular flowers arranged in few-flowered heads. It occurs in the lowlands and

Andean The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the List of mountain ranges#Mountain ranges by length, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range i ...

foothills of southern

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

, and the

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian state of

Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

, often growing in small groups along rivers. ''Suessenguthia'' is similar to and closely related to the better known and larger genus '' Sanchezia''. '' Suessenguthia multisetosa'' (Rusby) Wasshausen & J.R.I. Wood from eastern Bolivia is one of the more known species as it is cultivated for ornamental use.

References

*Schmidt-Lebuhn, A.N. (2003). A taxonomic revision of the genus ''Suessenguthia'' Merxm. (Acanthaceae). Candollea 58: 101–128. *Schmidt-Lebuhn, A.N., M. Kessler & J. Müller (2005). Evolution of ''Suessenguthia'' (Acanthaceae) inferred from morphology, AFLP data, and ITS rDNA sequences. Organisms, Diversity & Evolution 5: 1–13.

External links

Tree of Life Project
Acanthaceae Acanthaceae genera {{Acanthaceae-stub