Acanthaceae is a family of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing almost 250 genera and about 2500 species. Most are tropical herbs, shrubs, or twining vines; some are epiphytes. Only a few species are distributed in temperate regions. The four main centres of distribution are Indonesia and Malaysia, Africa, Brazil, and Central America. Representatives of the family can be found in nearly every habitat, including dense or open forests, scrublands, wet fields and valleys, sea coast and marine areas, swamps, and mangrove forests.
Justicia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae. It is the largest genus within the family, encompassing around 700 species with hundreds more as yet unresolved. They are native to tropical to warm temperate regions of the Americas, India, and Africa. The genus serves as host to many butterfly species, such as Anartia fatima. Common names include water-willow and shrimp plant, the latter from the inflorescences, which resemble a shrimp in some species. The generic name honours Scottish horticulturist James Justice (1698–1763). They are closely related to Pachystachys.
Aphelandra is a genus of over 200 species of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae, native to tropical regions of the Americas.
Leonia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Violaceae. It includes 23 species of small trees or shrubs native to tropical Central and South America, ranging from Guatemala to Bolivia and central Brazil.
Ruellia is a genus of flowering plants commonly known as ruellias or wild petunias. They are not closely related to petunias (Petunia) although both genera belong to the same euasterid clade. The genus was named in honor of Jean Ruelle (1474–1537), herbalist and physician to Francis I of France and translator of several works of Dioscorides.
Dicliptera is a genus of flowering plants in the bear's breeches family, Acanthaceae. It includes 223 species native to the tropics and subtropics worldwide. Well-known synonyms include Peristrophe and Dactylostegium.
Poikilacanthus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae. It includes 13 species native to the tropical Americas, ranging from central Mexico to northern Argentina.
Lepidagathis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae. It includes 151 species native to the tropics of the Americas, sub-Saharan Africa, south and southeast Asia, southern China, Malesia, and New Guinea.
Dianthera is a genus of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae. It includes 41 species native to the Americas, ranging from eastern Canada to northern Argentina.
Stenandrium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae native to the Americas, with 50 species of perennial herbs ranging from the southern United States to northern Argentina and central Chile.
Suessenguthia is a genus of the Acanthaceae plant family comprising eight species of shrubs with showy, tubular flowers arranged in few-flowered heads. It occurs in the lowlands and Andean foothills of southern Peru, Bolivia, and the Brazilian state of Acre, often growing in small groups along rivers.
Neriacanthus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae. It contains five species native to the tropical Americas, ranging from Jamaica and Panama to Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
Odontonema, the toothedthreads, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae. It includes 32 species native to the tropical Americas, ranging from Mexico to Peru and southeastern Brazil.
Pseuderanthemum is a genus of plants in family Acanthaceae with a pantropical distribution.
Stenostephanus is a genus of plants in the family Acanthaceae. It includes 94 species native to the tropical Americas, ranging from northeastern Mexico to Bolivia and southeastern Brazil.
Pachystachys is a genus of 12 species of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae, native to rainforest in the Caribbean and Central and South America. They are evergreen perennials and shrubs bearing prominent terminal spikes of flowers with brightly coloured bracts.
Chamaeranthemum is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Acanthaceae. It includes four species native to the tropical Americas, including Costa Rica, Peru, and southern and southeastern Brazil.
Herpetacanthus is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Acanthaceae. It includes 21 species native to the tropical Americas, ranging from Honduras to Panama in Central America, and from Ecuador and Peru to Bolivia, northern and eastern Brazil, Suriname, and French Guiana in South America.
