| Leonotis (lion's-ear) | |
|---|---|
| |
| Leonotis nepetifolia | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Lamiaceae |
| Subfamily: | Lamioideae |
| Genus: | Leonotis (C.H. Persoon) R.Br. |
| Type species | |
| Leonotis ocymifolia | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Leonotis is a genusofflowering plants in the family Lamiaceae.[2] One species, Leonotis nepetifolia, is nativetotropical Africa and southern India. It is naturalized throughout most of the tropics. The other species are endemic to southern + eastern Africa.[1][3]
Leonotis was named by Robert Brown in 1810 in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen.[4] The name means "lion's ear".
The type for the genus is the specimenofLeonotis ocymifolia that was originally described as Leonotis leonitis.[5] It is a specimen of Leonotis ocymifolia var. ocymifolia.[3]
Leonotis leonurus and Leonotis nepetifolia seem to be mildly psychoactive, similar to cannabis albeit producing a far less potent and less intense "high"
Leonotis is a member of the subfamily Lamioideae.[2] Leonotis might be paraphyletic or even polyphyletic because Leonotis leonurus is not closely related to the other species.[6] In 2009, it was shown that Leonotis and 3 other genera are embeddedinLeucas,[6] a genus of about 100 species.[2] If the 4 embedded genera were merged with Leucas, the expanded Leucas would have about 132 species.
| Leonotis |
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|---|---|
| Phlomis subg. Leonotis |
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