Subfamily

V. Subfam. Scutellarioideae (Dumort.) Caruel (1884).

Description

Shrubs, subshrubs, and perennial herbs; leaves opposite, alternate or whorled, usually entire or few-toothed; inflorescence of cymes sometimes reduced to solitary flowers or merging to form a terminal thyrse or raceme; bracts present, reduced or not; bracteoles present; calyx 2-lipped, inflated-accrescent, lips entire, rounded, becoming appressed at maturity and enclosing nutlets, eventually dehiscent or not; corolla reddish brown, orange, yellow, or violet, bilabiate (2/3), tube straight or upcurved, anterior lip 2-3x the posterior, median lobe much larger than others, usually strongly recurved laterally; stamens usually slightly exserted, filaments apically geniculate and often swollen, basally bearded and sometimes prolonged downward as appendage, anterior anthers larger than posterior, thecae parallel to divaricate, anther slit usually minutely ciliate; ovary-lobes separate both above and below the style attachment (1/4 - 1/2 way to base of ovary); disc well developed, symmetrical; nutlets dry, clavate, pubescent or glabrous, the dorsal side bearing long, hairlike structures, usually plumose and coalescent to form a peltate wing-like flying device, attachment-scar lateral, 0.25-0.5x nutlet; endosperm present or absent; embryo spatulate.  2n = 32.  Nineteen spp. of tropical and southern Africa, mainly in fire-prone grassland, woodland, and scrub. Vollesen (1975) distinguished subgenus Tinnea, with dehiscent fruiting calyx and winged nutlets (the wings composed of coalescent, plumose, hair-like outgrowths), from subgenus Membranacea (Robyns & Lebrun) Vollesen, with indehiscent calyx and simple hair-like outgrowths on the nutlets.

Distribution

Native to:

22 West Tropical Africa
23 West-Central Tropical Africa
24 Northeast Tropical Africa
25 East Tropical Africa
26 South Tropical Africa
27 Southern Africa

Synonyms

Tinnethamnus Pritz., Icon. Bot. Index 2: 273 (1865).

Publication

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Image resource

© Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew