Equilabium laxiflorum
| Equilabium laxiflorum | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Lamiaceae |
| Genus: | Equilabium |
| Species: | E. laxiflorum[1]
|
| Binomial name | |
| Equilabium laxiflorum[1] (Benth.) Mwany., A.J.Paton & Culham
| |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Equilabium laxiflorum, commonly called the citronella slippermint or citronella spurflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is found from Ethiopia in the north to South Africa in the south.[1]
Description
This is an aromatic perennial herb with climbing or scrambling stems reaching up to 4 m (13 ft). Stems are ascending to erect, square in cross-section, often swollen below the nodes, branching above and becoming woody and rooting below; pubescent to villose with retrorse hairs, and bearing glandular hairs and red sessile glands on the inflorescence.[2] [3]
Leaves are petiolate; blades are heart-shaped to triangular, 3–10 cm (1.2–3.9 in) long (occasionally to 15 cm (5.9 in)), crenate to irregularly toothed, sometimes weakly revolute, with a pointed to apiculate tip and a heart-shaped to squared-off base. Surfaces are pubescent to tomentose beneath with red sessile glands.[3]
The inflorescences are terminal, lax, with spaced verticils of six or more flowers. Bracts are ovate and much smaller than the leaves.[3]
Flowers are borne on stalks 3–6 mm (0.12–0.24 in) long. The calyx is small, pubescent, and glandular, enlarging slightly in fruit. Its lobes are lanceolate, the posterior lobe being slightly broader and longer than those of the anterior lip.[3]
The corolla is white to pale mauve, occasionally blue-tinged, 10–18 mm (0.39–0.71 in) long, with a sigmoid tube and a horizontal to ascending, hooded anterior lip enclosing the stamens.[3]
When its leaves are crushed, Equilabium laxiflorum emits a powerful lemon scent.[3][2]
Distribution and habitat
Equilabium laxiflorum grows in damp conditions in forest margins and clearings in the eastern DRC, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.
In the latter country, it can be found from Limpopo through Mpumalanga and the KwaZulu-Natal midlands to the Wild Coast in the Eastern Cape and along the coast to Humansdorp.[1][4][5]
Notes
- ^ a b c "Equilabium laxiflorum (Benth.) Mwany., A.J.Paton & Culham". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
- ^ a b Codd, L. E. W., Dyer, R. A., Rycroft, H. B., de Winter, B. (1985). Flora of Southern Africa: The Republic of South Africa, Basutoland, Swaziland and South West Africa. Vol. 28. Govt. Printer. p. 172. ISBN 0621082686.
- ^ a b c d e f Paton, A.J.; Bramley, G.; Ryding, O.; Polhill, R.M.; Harvey, Y.B.; Iwarsson, M.; Willis, F.; Phillipson, P.B.; Balkwill, K.; Lukhoba, C.W.; Otieno, D.F.; Harley, R.M. (2009). Flora of Tropical East Africa: Lamiaceae (Labiatae). Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. pp. 250–251. ISBN 978-1-84246-372-7. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
- ^ Klopper, R. R.; Winter, P. J. D., eds. (20 March 2025). "The South African National Plant Checklist: 2025 official yearly release". South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). Retrieved 20 January 2026.
- ^ "Equilabium laxiflorum". PlantZAfrica. SANBI. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
See also
External links
- SANBI Biodiversity Advisor
- Flora of Zimbabwe
- Data related to Equilabium laxiflorum at Wikispecies