Leonotis

Leonotis (lion's-ear)
Leonotis nepetifolia
Scientific classification Edit this 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]
  • Leonurus Mill. 1754 not L. 1753
  • Hemisodon Raf.

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"

  1. ^ a b Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. ^ Raymond M. Harley, Sandy Atkins, Andrey L. Budantsev, Philip D. Cantino, Barry J. Conn, Renée J. Grayer, Madeline M. Harley, Rogier P.J. de Kok, Tatyana V. Krestovskaja, Ramón Morales, Alan J. Paton, and P. Olof Ryding. 2004. "Labiatae" pages 167-275. In: Klaus Kubitzki (editor) and Joachim W. Kadereit (volume editor). The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants volume VII. Springer-Verlag: Berlin; Heidelberg, Germany. ISBN 978-3-540-40593-1
  3. ^ a b Mattias Iwarsson and Yvette Harvey. 2003. "Monograph of the genus Leonotis (Pers.) R.Br. (Lamiaceae)". Kew Bulletin 58(3):597-645.
  4. ^ Robert Brown. 1810. Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen:504. (see External links below).
  5. ^ Leonotis In: Index Nominum Genericorum. In: Regnum Vegetabile (see External links below).