Biology:Endostemon obtusifolius
| Endostemon obtusifolius | |
|---|---|
LC (SANBI)[1]
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Lamiaceae |
| Genus: | Endostemon |
| Species: | E. obtusifolius
|
| Binomial name | |
| Endostemon obtusifolius (E.Mey. ex Benth.) N.E.Br.
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| Synonyms | |
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Endostemon obtusifolius, commonly called the minty keepsafe, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is native to southeastern Africa.[2]
Description
This species is a straggling to erect herb or soft shrub 0.5–1.5 m (1 ft 8 in–4 ft 11 in) tall, much branched, with hispid stems.[3]
The leaves are borne on stalks, with broadly ovate blades 15–40 mm (0.59–1.57 in) long. The upper surface is thinly hairy, while the underside is more coarsely hispid and distinctly reticulate-veined. The leaf tips are blunt to rounded, the bases obtuse to truncate, and the margins are shallowly crenate to serrate. The petioles are 5–15 mm (0.20–0.59 in) long.[3]
The inflorescences are lax racemes 150–300 mm (5.9–11.8 in) long, composed of many well-spaced whorls. Each whorl bears two to eight, occasionally up to twelve, flowers. The bracts are ovate and tapering, 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long. The calyx is hispid and about 3.5 mm (0.14 in) long at flowering, enlarging to 6–7 mm (0.24–0.28 in) in fruit. The corolla is white and about 5 mm (0.20 in) long.[3]
Endostemon obtusifolius flowers from November to May.[4]
Identification
In tropic eastern Africa, this species can be distinguished from Endostemon villosus and Endostemon usambarensis by its shorter, white flowers.[5]
Distribution and habitat
Endostemon obtusifolius grows in forest margins and along wooded streams in Angola, Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. In the latter country, it can be found from the Soutpansberg to Barberton, through coastal and semi-coastal Kwazulu-Natal into the Eastern Cape.[2][6]
Notes
- ↑ "Endostemon obtusifolius". SANBI. https://redlist.sanbi.org/species.php?species=1664-1.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Endostemon obtusifolius (E.Mey. ex Benth.) N.E.Br.". The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:446716-1.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Flora of Southern Africa: The Republic of South Africa, Basutoland, Swaziland and South West Africa. 28. Govt. Printer. 1985. pp. 127-128. ISBN 0621082686.
- ↑ A Flora of the Eastern Cape Province. 2. SANBI. 2019. p. 1129. ISBN 9781928224280.
- ↑ Paton, A.J.; Bramley, G.; Ryding, O.; Polhill, R.M.; Harvey, Y.B.; Iwarsson, M.; Willis, F.; Phillipson, P.B. et al. (2009). Flora of Tropical East Africa: Lamiaceae (Labiatae). Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. pp. 205-206. ISBN 978 1 84246 372 7. https://kew.iro.bl.uk/concern/books/ea570331-09cc-4f18-b631-8b0f1667c26d. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
- ↑ Klopper, R.R. & Winter, P.J.D., ed (20 March 2025). "The South African National Plant Checklist: 2025 official yearly release". South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). https://opus.sanbi.org/items/fc8fbd6d-52b0-4342-b78d-49ff1a7c0d46.
See also
External links
- SANBI Biodiversity Advisor
- Flora of Zimbabwe
Data related to Endostemon obtusifolius at Wikispecies
Wikidata ☰ Q15319728 entry
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