''Aneilema'' is a genus of

monocotyledonous Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, ( Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are flowering plants whose seeds contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. A monocot taxon has been in use for several decades, but with various ranks an ...

plants of approximately 60 species. The vast majority of the species are native to

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

, but a few are found in

Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

and one, '' Aneilema brasiliense'', is from South America.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> It is the third largest genus in the family

Commelinaceae Commelinaceae is a family of flowering plants. In less formal contexts, the group is referred to as the dayflower family or spiderwort family. It is one of five families in the order Commelinales and by far the largest of these with about 731 kn ...

after ''

Commelina ''Commelina'' is a genus of approximately 208 species commonly called dayflowers due to the short lives of their flowers. They are less often known as widow's tears. It is by far the largest genus of its family, Commelinaceae. The Swedish taxonom ...

'' and ''

Tradescantia ''Tradescantia'' () is a genus of 85 species of herbaceous perennial wildflowers in the family Commelinaceae, native to the Americas from southern Canada to northern Argentina, including the West Indies. Members of the genus are known by many com ...

'', and it is one of only six genera in the family to occur in both the

Eastern Hemisphere The Eastern Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth which is east of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and west of the antimeridian (which crosses the Pacific Ocean and relatively little land from pole to p ...

and the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the 180th meridian.- The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Geopolitically, ...

. ''Aneilema'' consists of

herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...

s that may be either perennial or annual. They are characterised by their

zygomorphic Floral symmetry describes whether, and how, a flower, in particular its perianth, can be divided into two or more identical or mirror-image parts. Uncommonly, flowers may have no axis of symmetry at all, typically because their parts are spir ...

flowers which, unlike the closely related genus ''

'', 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 ''Aneilema aequinoctiale'' is a flowering shrub native to much of sub-Saharan Africa. It is sometimes referred to by its English common name, clinging aneilema, and in Yoruba, a language of West Africa, it may be referred to as ''ẹfĩajija''. ...

'' - tropical + southern Africa * '' Aneilema alatum'' Koord. - Java * '' Aneilema angolense'' C.B.Clarke - Angola * ''

Aneilema aparine ''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 ...

'' H.Perrier - Madagascar * '' Aneilema arenicola'' Faden - KwaZulu-Natal, Mozambique * '' Aneilema benadirense'' Chiov. - Somalia * '' Aneilema beniniense'' (P.Beauv.) Kunth - tropical Africa * ''

Aneilema biflorum ''Aneilema biflorum'' is a perennial herb in the family Commelinaceae. It grows in moist and shaded places, often near streams in eastern Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland A ...

'' - Queensland, New South Wales * '' Aneilema brasiliense'' C.B.Clarke - Brazil, Venezuela * ''

Aneilema brenanianum ''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 ...

'' Faden - Kenya, Tanzania * ''

Aneilema brunneospermum ''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 ...

'' Faden - Mozambique, Eswatini, South Africa * ''

Aneilema calceolus ''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 ...

'' Brenan - Kenya, Tanzania * ''

Aneilema chrysopogon ''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 ...

'' Brenan - Zambia, Tanzania * '' Aneilema clarkei'' Rendle - Kenya, Tanzania * ''

Aneilema dispermum ''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 ...

'' Brenan - Malawi, Tanzania * ''

Aneilema dregeanum ''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 ...

'' Kunth - Mozambique, Eswatini, South Africa; naturalized in Vietnam * ''

Aneilema ephemerum ''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 ...

'' Faden - Kenya * ''

Aneilema forsskalii ''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 ...

'' Kunth - Ethiopia, Sudan, Djibouti, Yemen, Oman, Saudi Arabia * ''

Aneilema gillettii ''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 ...

'' 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'' - 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

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Commelinaceae genera Taxonomy articles created by Polbot