Aneilema
Aneilema is a genus of monocotyledonous plants of approximately 60 species. The vast majority of the species are native to sub-Saharan Africa, but a few are found in Oceania and one, Aneilema brasiliense, is from South America. It is the third largest genus in the family Commelinaceae after Commelina and Tradescantia, and it is one of only six genera in the family to occur in both the Eastern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere.
Aneilema consists of herbs that may be either perennial or annual. They are characterised by their zygomorphic flowers which, unlike the closely related genus Commelina, usually lack a modified leaf enclosing the flower stalk at maturity. The uppermost leaf on the flowering stalk is often highly modified, however, and in a few species, such as Aneilema clarkei, the upper leaf does completely surround the inflorescence. The flowering stalks of Aneilema tend to be much larger than those of Commelina, with some species having inflorescences of more than 25 cm in length, although some are as short as 2 cm.
; SpeciesAneilema acuminatum R.Br. - New Guinea, Maluku, Solomon Islands, Queensland, New South Wales Aneilema aequinoctiale - tropical + southern AfricaAneilema alatum Koord. - JavaAneilema angolense C.B.Clarke - AngolaAneilema aparine H.Perrier - MadagascarAneilema arenicola Faden - KwaZulu-Natal, MozambiqueAneilema benadirense Chiov. - SomaliaAneilema beniniense Kunth - tropical AfricaAneilema biflorum - Queensland, New South Wales Aneilema brasiliense C.B.Clarke - Brazil, VenezuelaAneilema brenanianum Faden - Kenya, TanzaniaAneilema brunneospermum Faden - Mozambique, Eswatini, South AfricaAneilema calceolus Brenan - Kenya, TanzaniaAneilema chrysopogon Brenan - Zambia, TanzaniaAneilema clarkei Rendle - Kenya, TanzaniaAneilema dispermum Brenan - Malawi, TanzaniaAneilema dregeanum Kunth - Mozambique, Eswatini, South Africa; naturalized in VietnamAneilema ephemerum Faden - KenyaAneilema forsskalii Kunth - Ethiopia, Sudan, Djibouti, Yemen, Oman, Saudi ArabiaAneilema gillettii Brenan - Ethiopia, KenyaAneilema grandibracteolatum Faden - EthiopiaAneilema hirtum A.Rich. - eastern Africa from Ethiopia to ZambiaAneilema hockii De Wild - eastern + southern AfricaAneilema homblei De Wild - DRCAneilema indehiscens Faden - eastern + southern AfricaAneilema johnstonii K.Schum. - eastern + southern AfricaAneilema lamuense Faden - Kenya, SomaliaAneilema lanceolatum Benth. - tropical AfricaAneilema leiocaule K.Schum. - eastern + central AfricaAneilema longicapsa Faden - SomaliaAneilema longirrhizum Faden - Northern Province of South AfricaAneilema macrorrhizum T.C.E.Fr. - Tanzania, Zimbabwe, ZambiaAneilema minutiflorum Faden - Kenya, Tanzania, UgandaAneilema mortonii Brenan - Ghana, TogoAneilema neocaledonicum Schltr. - Vanuatu, New CaledoniaAneilema nicholsonii C.B.Clarke - eastern + southern AfricaAneilema nyasense C.B.Clarke - southeastern AfricaAneilema obbiadense Chiov. - SomaliaAneilema paludosum A.Chev. - western AfricaAneilema pedunculosum C.B.Clarke - southeastern AfricaAneilema petersii C.B.Clarke - eastern + southeastern AfricaAneilema plagiocapsa K.Schum. - DRC, Zambia, AngolaAneilema pomeridianum Stanf. & Brenan - Nigeria, Niger, Togo, Benin, Ghana Aneilema pusillum Chiov. - Kenya, Somalia, EthiopiaAneilema recurvatum Faden - Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, TanzaniaAneilema rendlei C.B.Clarke - Kenya, Ethiopia, TanzaniaAneilema richardsiae Brenan - DRC, Zambia, TanzaniaAneilema schlechteri K.Schum. - Zimbabwe, Transvaal, EswatiniAneilema sclerocarpum F.Muell. - QueenslandAneilema sebitense Faden - Kenya, EthiopiaAneilema setiferum A.Chev. - western AfricaAneilema siliculosum R.Br. - Queensland, Northern TerritoryAneilema silvaticum - Nigeria, Togo, Cameroon, Bioko, Zaïre Aneilema somaliense C.B.Clarke - Kenya, Somalia, EthiopiaAneilema spekei C.B.Clarke - eastern AfricaAneilema succulentum Faden - KenyaAneilema tanaense Faden - Kwale District of KenyaAneilema taylorii C.B.Clarke - Kenya, TanzaniaAneilema termitarium Faden - Zaïre, Zambia, TanzaniaAneilema trispermum Faden - SomaliaAneilema umbrosum Kunth - tropical Africa; tropical South America, Trinidad, Costa Rica, PanamaAneilema usambarense Faden - Usambara Mountains of TanzaniaAneilema welwitschii C.B.Clarke - central + southern AfricaAneilema woodii Faden - YemenAneilema zebrinum Chiov. ex Chiarugi - - Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, KwaZulu-Natal