Leonotis (lion's-ear) | |
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Leonotis nepetifolia | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Lamiales |
Family: | Lamiaceae |
Subfamily: | Lamioideae |
Genus: | Leonotis (C.H. Persoon) R.Br. |
Type species | |
Leonotis ocymifolia | |
Synonyms[1] | |
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Leonotis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae.[2] One species, Leonotis nepetifolia, is native to tropical Africa and southern India. It is naturalized throughout most of the tropics. The other species are endemic to southern + eastern Africa.[1][3]
Leonotis was named by Robert Brown in 1810 in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen.[4] The name means "lion's ear".
The type for the genus is the specimen of Leonotis ocymifolia that was originally described as Leonotis leonitis.[5] It is a specimen of Leonotis ocymifolia var. ocymifolia.[3]
Leonotis leonurus and Leonotis nepetifolia seem to be mildly psychoactive, similar to cannabis albeit producing a far less potent and less intense "high"