Leonotis

Kleinblättriges lion's tail ( Leonotis nepetifolia )

Lion's ear ( Leonotis ), also called lion's tail, is a genus of flowering plants of the mint family ( Lamiaceae). The botanical genus name is from the Greek words leon derived Leontos for Lion and otos for ear and refers to the shape of the corolla.

Description

Leonotis species grow as annuals and evergreen, perennial herbaceous plants or subshrubs, the plant height usually 0.6 to 2, rarely reach up to 5 meters. They contain essential oils and scented by aromatic. Most parts of the plant are hairy. Young stems are usually square. The leaves are petiolate against permanent. The simple leaf blades are flat and ovate to lanceolate. The leaf margin may be whole, cut or notched. Stipules absent.

The total inflorescence consists of several (three to eleven), axillary, mutually arranged away the stem, dense, many-flowered, nearly spherical Blütenquirlen together. The bracts are leaf-like leaves and the bracts are oblong, often with a spiny tip. The stalked, eye-catching, hermaphrodite flowers are zygomorphic and fünfzählig. The five sepals are fused Roehrig and the calyx tube ends in eight to ten calyx teeth, often with a spiny tip. The five bright orange to white petals are fused into a curved corolla tube, which ends two-lipped. The upper lip is covered with dense hair. The lower lip is three-lobed. It is a circle with four fertile stamens present; the lower pair is much longer. Two carpels are fused into a superior ovaries, which is often divided by a "wrong partition " into four chambers. The style ends in a small, two-lobed stigma.

There are rarely formed only two, usually four Klaus fruit.

Occurrence

All species are native to the tropical and southern Africa. An exception is the kind Leonotis nepetifolia, which is also found in southern India and America; in Australia this species is considered invasive plant.

Types (selection)

There are about 30 to 40 Leonotis species ( selection):

• African lion's tail, lion Großblättriges ear ( Leonotis leonurus (L.) R.Br. )
• Kleinblättriges lion's tail ( Leonotis nepetifolia (L.) WTAiton )
• Leonotis ocymifolia ( Burm. f ) Iwarsson

Use

Some species and their varieties are used as ornamental plants.

Swell

• TR Lally: Leonotis In: Western Australian Herbarium (ed.): Flora Base. The Western Australian Flora. Department of Environment and Conservation 2008, online.