''Coleus'' (, ) is a genus of annual or perennial herbs or shrubs, sometimes succulent, sometimes with a fleshy or tuberous rootstock, found in the Afro-Eurasia tropics and subtropics. The relationship among the genera ''Coleus'', ''

Solenostemon ''Solenostemon'' is a former genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae. It has been included in the genus ''Plectranthus'', but is now included in an expanded ''Coleus''. They are native to tropical Africa, Asia and Australia. Some spec ...

'' and ''

Plectranthus ''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 herbaceous perennial ...

'' has been confused. ''Coleus'' and ''Solenostemon'' were sunk into ''Plectranthus'', but recent phylogenetic analysis found ''Plectranthus'' to be

paraphyletic Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

with respect to other related genera in the subtribe Plectranthinae. The most recent taxonomic treatment of the genus resurrected ''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. Common names for ''Coleus'' include spurflower, flybush, hedgehog flower and hullwort. ''Coleus'' are cultivated as

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

s, particularly ''

Coleus scutellarioides ''Coleus scutellarioides'', commonly known as coleus, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae (the mint or deadnettle family), native to southeast Asia through to Australia. Typically growing to tall and wide, it is a bushy, wood ...

'' (syns. ''Coleus blumei'', ''Plectranthus scutellarioides''), which is popular as a garden plant for its brightly colored foliage. Other species that produce root tubers are cultivated for food, including ''

Coleus esculentus ''Coleus esculentus'', synonym ''Plectranthus esculentus'', also known as the kaffir potato or Livingstone potato, is a species of plant in the dicot family Lamiaceae. It is indigenous to Africa, where it is grown for its edible tubers. It is m ...

'', ''

Coleus rotundifolius ''Coleus rotundifolius'', synonyms ''Plectranthus rotundifolius'' and ''Solenostemon rotundifolius'', commonly known as native potato or country potato in Africa and called Chinese potato in India, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the mint f ...

'' and ''Coleus maculosus'' subsp. ''edulis''.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Coleus'' was first described by

João de Loureiro João de Loureiro (1717, Lisbon – 18 October 1791) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese Jesuit missionary and botanist. Biography After receiving admission to the Jesuit Order, João de Loureiro served as a missionary in Goa, capital of Port ...

in 1790. Using morphological characters as a guide, it was distinguished from ''Plectranthus'' (first described by Charles L'Héritier in 1788) by having its four stamens fused together rather than free to the base. In 1962, J.K. Morton noted that fused stamens were more widespread than previously thought, and accordingly merged ''Coleus'' into ''Plectranthus'', while maintaining ''Solenostemon'' and some other genera as distinct., cited in Most sources followed Morton in submerging ''Coleus''; some kept ''Solenostemon'' distinct, although others submerged it into ''Plectranthus'' along with ''Coleus''. A preliminary study of the tribe Ocimeae in 2004 showed that the subtribe Plectranthinae was

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

, with two main clades: one containing the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

of ''Coleus'' and including ''Solenostemon'', the other containing the type species of ''Plectranthus'' along with some other genera, so that ''Plectranthus'' when broadly defined was not monophyletic. A more detailed study in 2018 reached similar conclusions, and suggested that ''Coleus'' (including ''Solenostemon'') should be recognized again, ''Plectranthus'' more narrowly defined, and a new genus, ''

Equilabium ''Equilabium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae. It was split off from the genus ''Plectranthus'' in 2018 as the result of a molecular phylogenetic study. Most species are native to Africa, with two found in the Indian subc ...

'' erected for a clade of former ''Plectranthus'' species mainly from tropical Africa. The many new binomial combinations needed to implement this approach were provided in 2019.

Phylogeny

Paton et al. in 2019 published a summary cladogram for the subtribe Plectranthinae, based on a study in 2018. In the version below, the three genera accepted by Paton et al. that formed part of ''Plectranthus'' s.l. are highlighted.

Species

Paton et al. (2019) listed 294 species of ''Coleus'', many transferred from ''Plectranthus''. , ''

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

'' lists 302. Species include: *''

Coleus amboinicus ''Coleus amboinicus'', synonym ''Plectranthus amboinicus'', is a semi-succulent perennial plant in the family Lamiaceae with a pungent oregano-like flavor and odor. ''Coleus amboinicus'' is considered to be native to parts of Africa, the Arabian ...

'', syn. ''Plectranthus amboinicus'' *''

Coleus argentatus ''Coleus argentatus'', synonym ''Plectranthus argentatus'', common name silver spurflower, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family. It is native to rock outcrops and rainforest in the border region of Queensland and New South Wales, Au ...

'' *''

Coleus australis ''Coleus'' (, ) is a genus of annual or perennial herbs or shrubs, sometimes succulent, sometimes with a fleshy or tuberous rootstock, found in the Afro-Eurasia tropics and subtropics. The relationship among the genera ''Coleus'', '' Solenoste ...

'' *''

Coleus barbatus ''Coleus'' (, ) is a genus of annual or perennial herbs or shrubs, sometimes succulent, sometimes with a fleshy or tuberous rootstock, found in the Afro-Eurasia tropics and subtropics. The relationship among the genera ''Coleus'', '' Solenoste ...

'', syn. ''Plectranthus barbatus'' *''

Coleus caninus ''Coleus caninus'', synonym ''Plectranthus caninus'', also called dogbane, piss-off plant and scaredy-cat plant, is a herb from the mint family Lamiaceae, native to southern and eastern Africa from Angola to Sudan and to India and Myanmar. Desc ...

'', syn. ''Plectranthus caninus'' *''

Coleus cataractarum ''Coleus cataractarum'', synonym ''Plectranthus cataractarum'', is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is found in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and riv ...

'' *''

Coleus comosus ''Coleus comosus'', synonym ''Plectranthus ornatus'', is a flowering plant from the mint family Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle, or sage fami ...

'', syn. ''Plectranthus ornatus'' (sold as "''Coleus canina''" or "scaredy cat plant") *''

Coleus cremnus ''Coleus cremnus'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Plectranthus cremnus'', is a rare herbaceous plant, herb only found in a few sites in the north coast of New South Wales. It occurs in shallow sandy soils in rocky coastal headlands such as Evans ...

'' *''

Coleus dissitiflorus ''Coleus dissitiflorus'', synonym ''Plectranthus dissitiflorus'', is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is found only in Cameroon. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. ''C. dissitiflorus'' is threaten ...

'' *''

'', syn. ''Plectranthus esculentus'' *''

Coleus fredericii ''Coleus fredericii'', synonym ''Plectranthus welwitschii'', is a species of plant in the family Lamiaceae. The epithet is also spelt ''frederici''. The species was originally described by John Isaac Briquet in 1894, as ''Neomuellera welwitschii ...

'', syn. ''Plectranthus welwitschii'' *''

Coleus graveolens ''Coleus graveolens'', synonym ''Plectranthus graveolens'', is a shrub in the family Lamiaceae. It is native to New South Wales and Queensland in Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising ma ...

'' *'' Coleus habrophyllus'' *''

Coleus madagascariensis ''Coleus madagascariensis'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Plectranthus madagascariensis'', is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae that is native to southern Africa and southeastern Africa. Its common names include, thicket coleu ...

'' *''

Coleus maculosus ''Coleus maculosus'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is widespread in tropical Africa and Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagasc ...

'' *'' Coleus neochilus'' *''

'', syn. ''Plectranthus rotundifolius'' *''

'', syns ''Coleus blumei'', ''Plectranthus scutellarioides'' *''

Coleus socotranus ''Coleus socotranus'', synonym ''Plectranthus socotranus'', is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is endemic to Socotra, an East African island that is politically part of Yemen. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tro ...

'', syn. ''Plectranthus socotranus'' *'' Coleus unguentarius'', syn. ''Plectranthus unguentarius''

Image gallery

Image:IndianBorage.jpeg, ''

'' Image:Starr_020114-0030_Plectranthus_parviflorus.jpg, ''

'' File:Gardenology.org-IMG 3002 rbgs11jan.jpg, '' Coleus neochilus'' File:Leaves of Coleus in Monsoon in West Bengal, India.jpg, Cultivars in Monsoon,

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

, India

References

Citations

General and cited sources

External links

EcoPort on ''P. rotundifolius''
(synonym of ''Coleus rotundifolius'')

(synonym of ''Coleus rotundifolius'') * ttp://ecoport.org/perl/ecoport15.pl?searchType=entityDisplay&entityId=8753 EcoPort on ''P. esculentus'' (with tuber photo)(synonym of ''Coleus esculentus'')
Lamiales Newsletter on ''P. esculentus''
(synonym of ''Coleus esculentus'')
Little-known African Tubers
(discusses ''C. rotundifolius'' and ''C. esculentus'') {{Authority control Lamiaceae genera Taxa named by João de Loureiro