Mimulopsis solmsii is a flowering plant from the family Acanthaceae. It is a native to the mountains of tropical Africa. It is the type species for the genus Mimulopsis.[3][4] [5] [6]

Mimulopsis solmsii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Acanthaceae
Genus: Mimulopsis
Species:
M. solmsii
Binomial name
Mimulopsis solmsii
Synonyms[2]
  • Mimulopsis bagshawei S.Moore
  • Mimulopsis bicalcarata Lindau
  • Mimulopsis sesamoides S.Moore
  • Mimulopsis solmsii var. kivuensis (Mildbr.) Troupin
  • Mimulopsis solmsii var. mikenica (Mildbr.) Troupin
  • Mimulopsis solmsii var. orophila Troupin
  • Mimulopsis spathulata C.B.Clarke
  • Mimulopsis thomsonii C.B.Clarke
  • Mimulopsis usumburensis Lindau
  • Mimulopsis velutinella Mildbr.
  • Mimulopsis violacea Lindau

Description

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It is a shrubby perennial herb, with a scrambling or erect form. Its leaves are ovate, opposite, and large, up to 21 cm, with a coarsely-toothed margin.[7]

Its flowers form a large open and branched inflorescence, 15-35 cm long, made up of 1 to 9-flowered groups. The flowers are five-petaled, white to pale mauve with an orange-brown throat and one or two yellow markings.[7]

Plants flower abundantly after 5 to 9 years, and die back after flowering.[7]

Range and habitat

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Mimulopsis solmsii is native to the mountains of tropical Africa, including Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone in West Africa, Cameroon, Nigeria, and the Gulf of Guinea Islands in west-central Africa, and Ethiopia, South Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe in eastern Africa.[2]

It grows in the understorey of and along the margins of evergreen montane forests between 950 and 2300 meters elevation.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "Mimulopsis G". Index Nominum Genericorum. International Association for Plant Taxonomy. 1996-02-09. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  2. ^ a b Mimulopsis solmsii Schweinf. Plants of the World Online, Kew Science. Accessed 21 September 2022.
  3. ^ Aluka. "Mimulopsis solmsii Schweinf. var. solmsii [family ACANTHACEAE]". African Plants. Ithaka Harbors, Inc. Retrieved 2008-05-07.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ Nkurunungi, John Bosco; Jessica Ganas; Martha M. Robbins; Craig B. Stanford (2004). "A comparison of two mountain gorilla habitats in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda" (PDF). African Journal of Ecology. 42 (4): 289–297. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2028.2004.00523.x. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-06-13. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
  5. ^ Richards, P. W. (November 1963). "Ecological Notes on West African Vegetation III. The Upland Forests of Cameroons Mountain". The Journal of Ecology. 51 (3). British Ecological Society: 529–554. doi:10.2307/2257746. JSTOR 2257746.
  6. ^ Jackson, J. K. (July 1956). "The Vegetation of the Imatong Mountains, Sudan". The Journal of Ecology. 44 (2). British Ecological Society: 341–374. doi:10.2307/2256827. JSTOR 2256827.
  7. ^ a b c d Mimulopsis solmsii Schweinf. Flora of Zimbabwe. Accessed 21 September 2022.
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