Aphelandra squarrosa

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Lamiids
Ordo: Lamiales

Familia: Acanthaceae
Subfamilia: Acanthoideae
Tribus: Acantheae
Subtribus: Aphelandrinae
Genus: Aphelandra
Species: Aphelandra squarrosa
Name

Aphelandra squarrosa Nees, 1847, nom. illeg. superfl.
Synonyms

Heterotypic
Aphelandra coccinna Rizzini, Arquiv. Jard. Bot. Rio de Janeiro 8: 324 (1948).
Aphelandra leopoldii (Van Houtte) Lowe, Beautiful-leaved Plants, 55, pl. 27 (1861).
Aphelandra oostachya Wawra, Oester. Bot. Zeitschr. 12: 172 (1862).
Aphelandra chrysops W.Bull, Cat. 7, 9 (1887); Gard. Chron. ser. 3; 1: 736, fig. 140 (1887).
Aphelandra squarrosa var. angustifolia Nees, Fl. Bras. (Martius) 9: 89 (1847).
Aphelandra squarrosa var. citrina Planch., Fl. Serres Jard. Eur. 8: 161 (1852)-1853 (1853).
Aphelandra squarrosa var. laxior Nees, Fl. Bras. (Martius) 9: 89 (1847).
Aphelandra squarrosa var. leopoldii Van Houtte, Fl. Serres Jard. Eur. 9: 85 1853-1854 (1854).
Aphelandra squarrosa var. louisae Van Houtte, in?
Ruellia comosa Vell., Fl. Flumin. 265 (1829).

Notes

Ruellia comosa Roxb., Hort. Bengal. 46; Fl. Ind. 3: 43 (1832) = Strobilanthes rufescens (Roth) T.Anderson
Ruellia comosa Wall., Numer. List [Wallich] n (2414). = Staurogyne cremostachya Bremek.

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Southern America
Regional: Brazil
Brazil Northeast (Pernambuco), Brazil Southeast (Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro)

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References

Nees von Esenbeck, C.G.D. 1847. Fl. Bras. (Martius) 9: 89.

Links

Hassler, M. 2018. Aphelandra squarrosa. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2018. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2018 Jun. 08. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2018. Aphelandra squarrosa. Published online. Accessed: Jun. 08 2018.
The Plant List 2013. Aphelandra squarrosa in The Plant List Version 1.1. Published online. Accessed: 2018 Jun. 08.
Tropicos.org 2018. Aphelandra squarrosa. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 08 Jun. 2018.

Vernacular names
English: Saffron-spike, zebra-plant
suomi: Isoleopoldinkukka
svenska: Gul kungsblomma

Aphelandra squarrosa (commonly but ambiguously called "zebra plant") is a plant species in the family Acanthaceae, which is native to Atlantic Forest vegetation of Brazil. This plant is often used as a house plant. This plant is cited in Flora Brasiliensis by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius.
Plant care
This plant flourishes in abundant, but not direct, light. It does not bloom often, but it can be encouraged to bloom by prolonged daily exposure to light. It is also very sensitive to moisture content; too much or too little water will cause the lower leaves to brown and fall off. It likes to be kept moist, but not wet. On average, it needs frequent, small amounts of water, as opposed to an occasional, thorough watering.

The plant flourishes when the temperature is in the range of 18-21 °C (65-70 °F); and will suffer if the temperature drops below 15 °C (60 °F) for prolonged periods.
References