''Suessenguthia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of the

Acanthaceae Acanthaceae () is a Family (biology), family (the acanthus family) of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing almost 250 genera and about 2500 species. Most are Tropics, tropical Herbaceous plant, herbs, shrubs, or twining vines; some are epip ...

plant

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

comprising eight species of

shrub A shrub or 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 by their multiple ...

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

Andean The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long and wide (widest between 18°S ...

foothills of southern

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

, and the

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

ian state of

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

, often growing in small groups along rivers. ''Suessenguthia'' is similar to and closely related to the better known and larger genus ''

Sanchezia ''Sanchezia'' is a genus of the plant family (biology), family Acanthaceae. It contains 45 species. Members of this genus are shrubs, rarely small trees or herbs, occurring in the lowlands of tropical South America, South and Central America. ...

''. '' Suessenguthia multisetosa'' from eastern Bolivia is one of the more known species as it is cultivated for ornamental use.

Species

Eight species are accepted: *'' Suessenguthia barthleniana'' *'' Suessenguthia cuscoensis'' *'' Suessenguthia koessleri'' *'' Suessenguthia multisetosa'' *'' Suessenguthia trochilophila'' *'' Suessenguthia vargasii'' *'' Suessenguthia wallnoeferi'' *'' Suessenguthia wenzelii''

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 Flora of Southern America {{Acanthaceae-stub