Mendoncia (Borg, 2012)

Breteler, F. J. & Wieringa, J. J., 2018, A synopsis of Mendoncia (Acanthaceae) in continental Africa including the description of two new species from western Central Africa and a new subspecies from West Africa, Blumea 63 (2), pp. 109-119 : 110

KEY TO THE CONTINENTAL AFRICAN SPECIES OF MENDONCIA

1. Branches and leaves glabrous; plant cauliflorous, rarely also flowers on the leafy shoots. — Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea (?), Gabon, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa)..................................... .. 6. M. lindaviana

1. Branches and leaves hairy, at least sparsely and/or partly so; flowers axillary and/or plant cauliflorous.......... 2

2. Pedicel glabrous; bracteoles glabrous outside, caducous usually soon after flowering; plant cauliflorous. — Gabon..................................... 3. M. floribunda

2. Pedicel hairy; bracteoles hairy outside, at least sparsely and/ or partly so, persistent in fruit; flowers axillary, sometimes also cauliflorous................................ 3

3. No simple hairs present, indumentum consists only of stellate and/or branched hairs. — Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana.................... 2. M. combretoides

3. Indumentum of long, simple, ± hispid or flexible hairs mixed or not with shorter simple hairs or with stellate and/or branch- ed hairs...................................... 4

4. Indumentum of long (sometimes with shorter underneath) simple hairs only. — From Guinea to Ghana and from Cameroon to South Sudan and Tanzania....... 4. M. gilgiana

4. Indumentum of long, simple hairs mixed with shorter stellate and/or branched hairs........................... 5

5. Flowers solitary; leaves ≤ 10 cm long; fruits glabrous...................................... 8. M. rabiensis

5. Flowers usually several together, fasciculate, rarely solitary (in M. camerounensis ); leaves (6–)12–20(–28) cm long; fruits hairy (unknown for M. iodioides )............... 6

6. Bracteoles predominantly hispid-hairy; pedicel 5–10(–15) mm long. — South Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo (Kinshasa).............. 7. M. phytocrenoides

6. Bracteoles predominantly stellate- and/or branched-hairy; pedicel ≥ 15 mm long........................... 7

7. Bracteoles broadly elliptic, 12–15(–18) by (8–) 12–18 mm, prominently palmately veined; pedicel (15–)20–25(–30) mm long; calyx glabrous. — SE Nigeria, Southwest Cameroon...................................5. M. iodioides

7. Bracteoles ovate, 25–30 by 18–20 mm, pinnately veined; pedicel 20–40(–50) mm long; calyx stellate-hairy. — Cameroon, Southwest and Littoral Regions............................................. 1. M. camerounensis

SYNOPSIS OF THE CONTINENTAL AFRICAN SPECIES OF MENDONCIA