''Lankesteria'' is a genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s belonging to the family

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 ...

. Its native range is

Tropical Africa The Afrotropical realm is one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Sub-Saharan Africa, the southern Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, and the islands of the western Indian Ocean. It was formerly known as the Ethiopi ...

and it is found in the countries of Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zaïre. The genus name of ''Lankesteria'' is in honour of

Edwin Lankester Edwin Lankester FRS, FRMS, MRCS (23 April 1814 – 30 October 1874) was an English surgeon and naturalist who made a major contribution to the control of cholera in London: he was the first public analyst in England. Life Edwin Lankester ...

(1814–1874), an English surgeon and naturalist who made a major contribution to the control of

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

in London. It was first described and published in Edwards's Bot. Reg. Vol.31 (Misc.) on page 86 in 1845.

Known species

According to Kew: *'' Lankesteria alba'' *'' Lankesteria barteri'' *'' Lankesteria brevior'' *'' Lankesteria elegans'' *'' Lankesteria glandulosa'' *'' Lankesteria hispida'' *'' Lankesteria thyrsoidea''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10316234 Acanthaceae Acanthaceae genera Plants described in 1845 Flora of West Tropical Africa Flora of West-Central Tropical Africa Flora of Northeast Tropical Africa