Justicia bracteata (Hochst.) Zarb

Darbyshire, I. & Goyder, D. J., 2019, Notes on Justicia sect. Monechma (Acanthaceae) in Angola, including two new species, Blumea 64 (2), pp. 97-107 : 104

1. Justicia bracteata (Hochst.) Zarb

Justicia bracteata (Hochst.) Zarb (1879) 32. — Monechma bracteatum Hochst.(1841) 375. — Type: Kotschy 261 (holo TUB [not seen];iso GOET* [ GOET005559 ], GZU [not seen], HBG* [ HBG502284 , HBG502285 ], K [ K000378692 ], LD* [ LD1226235 ], M* [M0109807], MPU [not seen], S* [S09-6163], STU* [ STU000468 ], US* [ US 01049972]), Sudan, Kordofan , Tejara, 19 Nov. 1839.

Monechma debile sensu auct., non (Forssk.) Nees: Meyer (1968) 45 p. p.; Makholela (2008) 23 p. p.; Munday (1995) 59 p. p.

Distribution & Ecology — This is a widespread and common species, recorded throughout eastern and southern Africa (An- gola, Botswana, D.R. Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanza- nia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe), southern Arabia ( Oman, Yemen) and India. In Angola, it is restricted to the south, having been recorded in Cuando Cubango and Huíla provinces. It is an annual herb, found in a variety of open to lightly shaded habitats including woodland, bushland and grassland, often in disturbed areas where it can be a weed.

Angolan specimens seen. Baum 775 (BM,K), Cuando Cubango,zw.Kutue und Sobi am Cuito [Kuito], fl. & fr., 10 Mar. 1900 ; Barbosa & Gouveia 10692 p.p. ( BM), Huíla, Gambos, Chimbolelo ,fl.& fr., 24 Aug.1963 ; Harris & Murray-Hudson 860 ( K), Cuando Cubango , Cuito R., between Rito and Nankova, fl. & fr., 19 Apr. 2013 .

Notes — This species has commonly been named Monechma debile in the past. However, M. debile s.str. (= Justicia debilis (Forssk.) Vahl ) is a perennial (rarely annual) herb of Northeast Africa and Arabia ( Vollesen 2010).

For a full synonymy and bibliography for this species, see Vollesen (2010, 2015).