Genus: Crossandra

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 50 species, native to Africa, Arabian Peninsula, India and Madagascar. Seven species are native to southern Africa, and a further two species are cultivated in the region.

Species native to southern Africa 

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

Crossandra fruticulosa (Shade Crossandra) Perennial dwarf shrub or herb, growing to height of 0.3 m. See Pooley (1998: 78). Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga; Swaziland.
Crossandra greenstockii (Bushveld Crossandra) Perennial dwarf shrub or herb, growing to height of 0.3 m. See Pooley (1998: 78); van Wyk & Malan (1997: 188); Onderstall (1984: 182). Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Liimpopo, Gauteng; Swaziland.
Crossandra mucronata Perennial dwarf shrub or herb, growing to height of 0.4 m.  Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Zimbabwe.  See Flora of Zimbabwe.
Crossandra puberula Recorded from Zimbabwe and Mozambique. See Flora of Zimbabwe.
Crossandra pyrophila Recorded from Zimbabwe. See Flora of Zimbabwe.
Crossandra spinescens Recorded from Zimbabwe. See Flora of Zimbabwe.
Crossandra zuluensis (Zulu Crossandra) Perennial dwarf shrub or herb, growing to height of 0.4 m. See Pooley (1998: 78). Distribution in southern Africa: South Africa > KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Liimpopo; Swaziland.

Other species, cultivated in southern Africa

List from Glen (2002).

Publications

• 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.

• van Wyk, B. & Malan, S. 1997. Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of the Highveld. 2nd edition. Struik Publishers, Cape Town.

• Vollesen, K. 1990. The genus Crossandra (Acanthaceae) in the African continent. Kew Bulletin 45: 503-534.

• Voss, W.T. & Edwards, T.J. 1992. The genus Crossandra Salisb. (Acanthaceae) in South Africa, including a new species. South African Journal of Botany 58: 94-99.

• 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.