Blepharis

Genus: Blepharis

Life > eukaryotes > Archaeoplastida > Chloroplastida > Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants) > Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants) > Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering plants) > Eudicotyledons > Core Eudicots > Asterids > Euasterid I > Order: Lamiales > Family: Acanthaceae

About 80 species, found from Africa and the Mediterranean to the East Indies. There are 56 species native to southern Africa.

Species native to southern Africa

List from Plants of Southern Africa - an Online Checklist (SANBI), Flora of Zimbabwe and Flora of Mozambique.

Blepharis acanthodioides Perennial herb growing to height of 0.75 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Zimbabwe, Mozambique. See Flora of Zimbabwe.
Blepharis acuminata Perennial dwarf shrub or herb, growing to height of 0.4 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Mpumalanga, Limpopo.
Blepharis aequisepala Perennial dwarf shrub growing to height of 0.3 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Western Cape.
Blepharis angusta Perennial herb, growing to height of 0.25 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > North West.
Blepharis aspera Perennial dwarf shrub or herb, growing to height of 0.35 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > North West, Limpopo, Zimbabwe. See Flora of Zimbabwe.
Blepharis bainesii Annual herb, growing to height of 0.4 m. Distribution in southern Africa: Botswana, Zimbabwe. See Flora of Zimbabwe.
Blepharis breyeri Perennial shrub or dwarf shrub, growing to height of 2 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Limpopo.
Blepharis capensis Perennial shrub or dwarf shrub, growing to height of 1 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Northern Cape, Western Cape, Eastern Cape
Blepharis dilatata Perennial dwarf shrub or herb, growing to height of 0.35 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Eastern Cape
Blepharis diversispina Perennial shrub, dwarf shrub or herb, growing to height of 0.9 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > North West, Limpopo, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe. See Flora of Zimbabwe.
Blepharis drummondii Recorded from Zimbabwe. See Flora of Zimbabwe.
Blepharis espinosa Perennial herb growing to height of 0.3 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Northern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, North West, Gauteng, Free State; Lesotho.
Blepharis fenestralis Perennial dwarf shrub or herb, growing to height of 0.35 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Mpumalanga.
Blepharis ferox Perennial dwarf shrub or shrub, growing to height of 1 m. Distribution in southern Africa: Namibia.
Blepharis fleckii Perennial dwarf shrub growing to height of 0.5 m. Distribution in southern Africa: Namibia.
Blepharis furcata Perennial dwarf shrub, growing to height of 0.5 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Northern Cape; Namibia.
Blepharis gigantea Perennial shrub growing to height of 2 m. Distribution in southern Africa: Namibia.
Blepharis glumacea Recorded from Zimbabwe. See Flora of Zimbabwe.
Blepharis grossa Annual herb growing to height of 0.35 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Northern Cape; Namibia.
Blepharis hirtinervia Perennial dwarf shrub or shrub, growing to height of 0.6 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Eastern Cape.
Blepharis ilicina Perennial dwarf shrub or herb, growing to height of 0.25 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Eastern Cape.
Blepharis inaequalis Perennial dwarf shrub or herb, growing to height of 0.6 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Mpumalanga, Limpopo.
Blepharis inermis Perennial dwarf shrub growing to height of 0.3 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Western Cape.
Blepharis innocua Perennial herb growing to height of 0.35 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Mpumalanga, Limpopo, North West, Gauteng.
Blepharis integrifolia Rankklits [Afrikaans] Perennial herb growing to height of 0.4 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Northern Cape, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Gauteng, North West, Free State; Swaziland; Botswana; Namibia. See Pooley (1998: 490); van Wyk & Malan (1997: 242). See Flora of Zimbabwe.
Blepharis involucrata Recorded from Zimbabwe. See Flora of Zimbabwe.
Blepharis laevifolia Perennial herb growing to height of 0.2 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Mpumalanga.
Blepharis leendertziae Annual herb growing to height of 0.6 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Mpumalanga, Limpopo, North West, Gauteng; Namibia; Botswana, Zimbabwe. See Flora of Zimbabwe.
Blepharis longispica Perennial herb growing to height of 0.35 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > KwaZulu-Natal.
Blepharis macra Perennial dwarf shrub growing to height of 0.5 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Northern Cape; Namibia
Blepharis maderaspatensis Perennial or annual herb growing to length of 2 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, North West, Gauteng; Namibia; Botswana, Zimbabwe. See Flora of Zimbabwe.
Blepharis marginata Perennial dwarf shrub or herb, growing to height of 0.1 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Northern Cape.
Blepharis meyeri Perennial dwarf shrub or herb, growing to height of 0.15 m. Distribution in southern Africa: Namibia.
Blepharis mitrata Klapperbossie [Afrikaans] Perennial dwarf shrub or herb, growing to height of 0.2 m. See Shearing & van Heerden (1994: 142). Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape; Namibia.
Blepharis natalensis Perennial dwarf shrub or herb, growing to length of 0.4 m.See Pooley (1998: 490). Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > KwaZulu-Natal.
Blepharis noli-me-tangere Recorded from Zimbabwe. See Flora of Zimbabwe.
Blepharis obermeyerae Perennial dwarf shrub or herb, growing to height of 0.4 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Mpumalanga, Limpopo.
Blepharis obmitrata Perennial shrub, dwarf shrub or herb, growing to height of 1 m. Distribution in southern Africa: Botswana; Namibia.
Blepharis obtusisepala Perennial dwarf shrub or herb, growing to length of 0.45 m. See Pooley (1998: 490). Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal.
Blepharis petalidioides Perennial shrub growing to height of 2 m. Distribution in southern Africa: Botswana.
Blepharis procumbens Perennial herb growing to length of 1 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Eastern Cape.
Blepharis pruinosa Perennial shrub, dwarf shrub or herb, growing to height of 0.75 m. Distribution in southern Africa: Namibia.
Blepharis pungens Recorded from Zimbabwe. See Flora of Zimbabwe.
Blepharis sericea Perennial herb growing to height of 0.2 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > KwaZulu-Natal.
Blepharis serrulata Perennial dwarf shrub or herb, growing to height of 0.2 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Limpopo, Gauteng, North West; Botswana.
Blepharis sinuata Perennial dwarf shrub or herb, growing to length of 0.35 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Eastern Cape.
Blepharis spinifex Perennial shrub or dwarf shrub, growing to height of 0.9 m. Distribution in southern Africa: Namibia.
Blepharis spinipes Perennial dwarf shrub growing to height of 0.3 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Limpopo.
Blepharis squarrosa Perennial dwarf shrub or herb, growing to height of 0.3 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Limpopo, North West, Gauteng, Free State.
Blepharis stainbankiae Perennial herb growing to length of 0.45 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Mpumalanga, Gauteng.
Blepharis subglabra Perennial herb growing to length of 0.25 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > KwaZulu-Natal.
Blepharis subvolubilis Perennial shrub, dwarf shrub or herb, growing to height of 0.5 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, North West, Gauteng; Botswana. See Pooley (1998: 492); Onderstall (1984: 182). See Flora of Zimbabwe.
Blepharis swaziensis Perennial herb growing to length of 0.4 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > KwaZulu-Natal; Swaziland.
Blepharis tenuiramea Annual herb growing to length of 0.75 m. Distribution in southern Africa: Botswana; Namibia. See Flora of Zimbabwe.
Blepharis transvaalensis Perennial herb growing to length of 0.35 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Gauteng; Botswana. See Flora of Zimbabwe.
Blepharis uniflora Perennial dwarf shrub or herb, growing to height of 0.3 m. Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Limpopo, Gauteng.

Publications

Obermeyer, A.A. 1937. The South African species of Blepharis. Annals of the Transvaal Museum 19,1: 105-139.
Onderstall, J. 1984. Transvaal Lowveld and Escarpment including the Kruger National Park. South African Wild Flower Guide 4. Botanical Society of Southern Africa, Kirstenbosch.
Pooley, E. 1998. A Field Guide to Wild Flowers KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Region. Natal Flora Publications Trust, Durban.
Shearing, D. & van Heerden, K. 1994. Karoo. South African Wild Flower Guide 6. Botanical Society of Southern Africa, Kirstenbosch.
van Wyk, B. & Malan, S. 1997. Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of the Highveld. 2nd edition. Struik Publishers, Cape Town.
Welman, W.G. 2003. Acanthaceae. In Germishuizen, G. & Meyer, N.L. (eds), Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14: 92-106. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.