''Thomandersia'' is the sole

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 ...

in the Thomandersiaceae, an

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

n family 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. ''Thomandersia'' is a genus 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 and small

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s, with six species native to Central and

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

. ''Thomandersia'' traditionally has been classified within 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 ...

based on

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

by several authors, including APG I 1998,

APG II The APG II system (Angiosperm Phylogeny Group II system) of plant classification is the second, now obsolete, version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy that was published in April 2003 by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Gro ...

2003, and in

Schlegeliaceae Schlegeliaceae is a family of plants native to tropical America. This family is sometimes included in Scrophulariaceae The Scrophulariaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the figwort family. The plants are annual and per ...

at APG Website Missouri Botanical Garden, in a list of genera of this family, but Stevens argues further that should be considered out of this taxon by weak support and regarded Thomandersiaceae. The genus was elevated to family status, previously by Sreemadhavan 1976 and 1977 on the basis of

leaf A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the plant stem, stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leav ...

anatomy and

anther The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

morphology, and more recently by Wortley ''et al.'' 2005 and 2007, based on phylogenetic analyses of genetic material. The genus was described with this name in 1892 by French botanist

Henri Ernest Baillon Henri Ernest Baillon (; 30 November 1827 in Calais – 19 July 1895 in Paris) was a French botanist and physician. Baillon spent his academic career teaching natural history and publishing numerous works on botany. He was appointed to the Lé ...

.Baillon, Henri Ernest. 1892. Histoire des Plantes 10: 456
in LatinTropicos, ''Thomandersia'' Baill.
/ref>

Species

The genus includes the following species:Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> * '' Thomandersia anachoreta'' Heine -

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

* ''

Thomandersia butayei ''Thomandersia'' is the sole genus in the Thomandersiaceae, an African family of flowering plants. ''Thomandersia'' is a genus of shrubs and small trees, with six species native to Central and West Africa. ''Thomandersia'' traditionally has bee ...

'' De Wild. -

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

* ''

Thomandersia congolana ''Thomandersia'' is the sole genus in the Thomandersiaceae, an African family of flowering plants. ''Thomandersia'' is a genus of shrubs and small trees, with six species native to Central and West Africa. ''Thomandersia'' traditionally has bee ...

'' De Wild. & T. Durand - Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo,

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

* ''

Thomandersia hensii ''Thomandersia'' is the sole genus in the Thomandersiaceae, an African family of flowering plants. ''Thomandersia'' is a genus of shrubs and small trees, with six species native to Central and West Africa. ''Thomandersia'' traditionally has bee ...

'' De Wild. & T. Durand - from

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

* '' Thomandersia laurentii'' De Wild. - Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo * '' Thomandersia laurifolia'' ( T. Anderson ex Benth.) Baill. - Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea

References

Lamiales Lamiales genera Flora of West Tropical Africa Taxa named by Henri Ernest Baillon {{Lamiales-stub