Afrofittonia commonly known as the hunter's weed,[2] is a genus of plants in the family Acanthaceae. There is only one species in the genus, Afrofittonia silvestris. It is found in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Nigeria.[3] Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss due to Oil & gas drilling.[1]
| Afrofittonia | |
|---|---|
| Illustrations of Afrofittonia silvestris | |
Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Acanthaceae |
| Subfamily: | Acanthoideae |
| Tribe: | Justicieae |
| Genus: | Afrofittonia Lindau |
| Species: | A. silvestris |
| Binomial name | |
| Afrofittonia silvestris Lindau | |
The genus name of Afrofittonia is in honour of Sarah Mary Fitton (c.1796–1874), an Irish writer and botanist and her sister Elizabeth Fitton.[4] The Latin specific epithet of silvestris means woodland, from sylva.[5] It was first described and published in Bot. Jahrb. Syst. Vol.49 on page 406 in 1913.[3]
The genus is recognized by the United States Department of Agriculture and the Agricultural Research Service, but they do not list any known species.[6]
Taxon identifiers | |
|---|---|
| Afrofittonia |
|
| Afrofittonia silvestris |
|