Dicliptera aripoensis | |
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Scientific classification
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Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Lamiales |
Family: | Acanthaceae |
Genus: | Dicliptera |
Species: | D. aripoensis
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Binomial name | |
Dicliptera aripoensis | |
Synonyms [2] | |
Diapedium aripoense Britton |
Dicliptera aripoensis is a species of plant in the family Acanthaceae which is endemic to Trinidad and Tobago. The species is only known from the Heights of Aripo, in Trinidad's Northern Range. It is a branching shrub, 1–1.5 m tall with red flowers about 3 cm long. [3]
The species was described as Diapedium aripoense by American botanist Nathaniel Lord Britton in 1926, based on a collection made by Walter Elias Broadway in 1922. [3] American botanist Emery Clarence Leonard transferred the species to the genus Dicliptera in 1954. [2]
Although Dicliptera aripoensis is not listed in the IUCN Red List the authors of a 2008 assessment of the endemic plant species of Trinidad and Tobago considered it a critically endangered because it is known from only a single locality, and this area is shrinking or experiencing habitat degradation. [4]