Tag Archives: Acanthaceae

Dicliptera maclearii Hemsley

Maclear’s Dicliptera (Dicliptera maclearii)

Maclear’s Dicliptera was described in 1890; it is endemic to Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean.

The species was originally found to be “common on [the] shore platform” [1] but has not been seen since the 1960s and might now be extinct. [2]

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References:

[1] Charles William Andrews: A monograph of Christmas Island (Indian Ocean). London: printed by order of the Trustees 1900
[2] D. J. James; P. T. Green; W. F. Humphreys; J. C. Z. Woinarski: Endemic species of Christmas Island, Indian Ocean. Records of the Western Australian Museum 34: 55-114. 2019

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edited: 18.02.2024

Dicliptera abuensis Blatt.

Mt. Abu Dicliptera (Dicliptera abuensis)

The Mt. Abu Dicliptera was described in 1931; the species is known only from the type that was collected in 1916.

The species was endemic to the Dhobi Ghats at Mount Abu in Rajasthan, India, where it inhabited wet and shady habitats.

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The photo below shows a related taxon, the Panicled Foldwing (Dicliptera paniculata (Forssk.) I. Darbysh.), which is also found in Rajasthan, India.

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Panicled Foldwing (Dicliptera paniculata)

Photo: Sonu Kumar
https://www.inaturalist.org/people/sonukumar055
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

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edited: 12.02.2024

Dicliptera dodsonii Wassh.

Dodson’s Dicliptera (Dicliptera dodsonii)

Dodson’s Dicliptera was described in 1977, it is known from just four collections that were made in a private forest of the Río Palenque Biological Station in the Los Rios Province of Ecuador.

The species was apparently last found in 1986 or maybe sometimes later, but since it hasn’t been found during any recent search it is now considered possibly extinct.

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edited: 13.11.2021

Hypoestes inconspicua Balf. f.

Inconspicuous Hypoestes (Hypoestes inconspicua)  

The Inconspicuous Hypoestes was described in 1877, it was endemic to the island of Rodrigues, Mascarene Islands.

The plant had a trailing habit with very small, indeed inconspicuous leaves.

The Inconspicuous Hypoestes is now considered extinct.

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edited: 03.11.2020

Strobilanthes hypericoides J. R. I. Wood

St John’s-Wort-leaved Strobilanthes (Strobilanthes hypericoides)  

This species was described in 1995 based on material that had been collected in 1926 in the Kandy District of Sri Lanka, it is still only known from the type material and may well be extinct.  

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References:  

[1] M. D. Dassanayake; W. D. Clayton: A Revised Handbook to the Flora of Ceylon 12. CRC Press 1998 [2] MOE 2012. The National Red List 2012 of Sri Lanka; Conservation Status of the Fauna and Flora. Ministry of Environment, Colombo, Sri Lanka. VIII + 476 pp  

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edited: 23.03.2018

Strobilanthes gardneriana (Nees) T. Anderson

Gardner’s Strobilanthes (Strobilanthes gardneriana)

Gardner’s Strobilanthes was described in 1860, it is, or rather was, endemic to the island of Sri Lanka.

The species is possibly extinct.

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Depiction from: ‘Richard Henry Beddome: Icones plantarum Indiae orientalis: or plates and descriptions of new and rare plants from Southern India and Ceylon. Vol. 1. Madras, Gantz & London, Van Voorst 1874’

(public domain)

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edited: 25.05.2021

Barleria natalensis Lindau

Natal Barleria (Barleria natalensis)

The Natal Barleria is known only from the type material that was collected in 1890 at Verulam, a small town in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

The type locality has been completely transformed to commercial sugarcane cultivation; the plant has not been found since the type collection and is most likely extinct now.

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edited: 16.05.2022

Ptyssiglottis sanguinolenta (Vahl) B. Hansen

Bloodstained Ptysiglottis (Ptyssiglottis sanguinolenta)  

The Bloodstained Ptysiglottis was described in the year 1791.  The plant occurred in the districts of Colombo, Galle, and Ratnapura in the south of the island of Sri Lanka, where it grew with prostrate stems on wet rocks in several rivers of the rain-soaked lowland forests.  

The species was repeatedly searched, but it could never be relocated – it is with nearly absolute certainty extinct.  

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References:  [1] M. D. Dassanayake; W. D. Clayton: A Revised Handbook to the Flora of Ceylon 12. CRC Press 1998 
[2] MOE 2012. The National Red List 2012 of Sri Lanka; Conservation Status of the Fauna and Flora. Ministry of Environment, Colombo, Sri Lanka. VIII + 476 pp

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edited: 16.02.2013

Strobilanthes caudata T. Anderson

Caudated Strobilanthes (Strobilanthes caudata)

This species is, or maybe was, endemic to the island of Sri Lanka; it is now, however, considered extinct.

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Depiction from: ‘Richard Henry Beddome: Icones plantarum Indiae orientalis: or plates and descriptions of new and rare plants from Southern India and Ceylon. Vol. 1. Madras, Gantz & London, Van Voorst 1874’

(public domain)

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edited: 25.05.2021

Hypoestes rodriguesiana Balf. f.

Rodrigues Hypoestes (Hypoestes rodriguesiana)  

The Rodrigues Hypoestes was described in 1877, it was endemic to the island of Rodrigues in the Mascarene Islands, where it apparently was restricted to Mont Malartic, the island’s highest mountain.

The species is now extinct.

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Depiction from: ‘An account of the petrological, botanical, and zoological collections made in Kerguelen’s Land and Rodriguez during the Transit of Venus Expeditions carried out by order of her Majesty’s Government in the years 1874-75. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London 168. 1879’

(public domain)

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edited: 03.11.2020

Dicliptera clavata (J. G. Forst.) Juss.

Clavate Dicliptera (Dicliptera clavata)  

The genus Dicliptera contains about 300 species, two of which occurred on the Society Islands in French Polynesia

One of these two species, Forster’s Dicliptera (Dicliptera forsteriana Nees) (see depiction below) is more widely distributed along the Society Islands and apparently can still be found today on the islands of Bora Bora, Huahine, Ra’iatea, and Taha’a, while it appears to be extinct on Tahiti and Mo’orea. It apparently did furthermore occur on the island of Rapa in the Austral Islands.

The second species, the Clavate Dicliptera, was restricted to the island of Tahiti and is considered globally extinct. 

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Forster’s Dicliptera (Dicliptera forsteriana)

Depiction from: ‘Sydney Parkinson: A Journal of a Voyage to the South Seas, in his Majesty’s Ship the Endeavour. London: Stanfield Parkinson 1773’  

(public domain)

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edited: 19.06.2020

Justicia psychotrioides Thou. ex Schult

Psychotria-like Justicia (Justicia psychotrioides)

The Psychotria-like Justicia was described in 1822, as far as I’m aware based on a herbarium specimen, the species was endemic to the island of Mauritius, Mascarene Islands.

The species is now considered extinct. 

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edited: 07.05.2019