Plectranthus is a genus of about 85 species of flowering plants from the sage family, Lamiaceae, found mostly in southern and tropical Africa and Madagascar. Common names include spur-flower. Plectranthus species are herbaceousperennial plants, rarely annuals or soft-wooded shrubs, sometimes succulent; sometimes with a tuberous base.[2]
Recent phylogenetic analysis found Plectranthus to be paraphyletic with respect to Coleus, Solenostemon, Pycnostachys and Anisochilus. The most recent treatment of the genus resurrected the genus Coleus, and 212 names were changed from combinations in Plectranthus, Pycnostachys and Anisochilus. Equilabium was segregated from Plectranthus, after phylogenetic studies supported its recognition as a phylogenetically distinct genus.[2]
Etymology
The word plectranthus derives from the Greek πλῆκτρον (plēktron), "anything to strike with, an instrument for striking the lyre, a spear point"[4] + ἄνθος (anthos), "blossom, flower".[5]
^ ab"Genus: Plectranthus L'Hér". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2007-10-05. Archived from the original on 2011-06-29. Retrieved 2011-02-17.
^ abcdPaton, Alan J.; Mwanyambo, Montfort; Govaerts, Rafaël H.A.; Smitha, Kokkaraniyil; Suddee, Somran; Phillipson, Peter B.; Wilson, Trevor C.; Forster, Paul I. & Culham, Alastair (2019). "Nomenclatural changes in Coleus and Plectranthus (Lamiaceae): a tale of more than two genera". PhytoKeys (129): 1–158. doi:10.3897/phytokeys.129.34988. PMC6717120. PMID31523157.
