8154.000 Pentas Benth.

Description of the genus

Perennial herbs, subshrubs or shrubs. Stipules divided into filiform segments. Leaves opposite or in whorls of 3-5. Flowers bisexual, mono-, di- or (rarely) tri-morphic, mostly in branched terminal cymose inflorescences. Calyx lobes usually 5, either equal or unequal with 1-3 larger than the others, sometimes leaf-like. Ovary 2-locular. Capsule ovoid or obtriangular, ribbed, beaked, opening at apex. Seeds minute.

Worldwide: 34 species from Africa to Arabia and Madagascar

Rwanda: 8 taxa.

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Links to taxa:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesContent
decora S.Moore var. decora Description, Image
lanceolata (Forsskal) Deflers subsp. quartiniana (A.Rich.) Verdc. var. leucaster (K.Krause) Verdc.
longiflora Oliv.
schimperiana (A. Rich.) Vatke subsp. occidentalis (Hook.f.) Verdc.
zanzibarica (Klotzsch) Vatke [Agg]
zanzibarica (Klotzsch) Vatke var. rubra Verdc.
zanzibarica (Klotzsch) Vatke var. intermedia Verdc.
zanzibarica (Klotzsch) Vatke subsp. zanzibarica var. zanzibarica Image

Other sources of information about Pentas:

Our websites:

Flora of Burundi: Pentas
Flora of Malawi: Pentas
Flora of Mozambique: Pentas
Flora of Zambia: Pentas
Flora of Zimbabwe: Pentas

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Pentas
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Pentas
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Pentas
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Pentas
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Pentas
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Pentas
JSTOR Plant Science: Pentas
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Pentas
Plants of the World Online: Pentas
Tropicos: Pentas
Wikipedia: Pentas

Copyright: The Rwanda flora team, 2024-26

The Rwanda flora team (2026). Flora of Rwanda: Genus page: Pentas.
https://www.rwandaflora.com/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=1366, retrieved 5 August 2026

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