Bravaisia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae (order Lamiales). It comprises three species of shrubs or trees native to tropical regions of the Americas, including Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, and Trinidad.
Members of this genus are woody plants that can reach up to 20 meters in height, with young stems that are quadrangular in cross-section and range from glabrous to tomentose on the youngest growth. The leaves are ovate to ovate-elliptic, measuring 3.5 to 28.5 cm long and 1 to 11.8 cm wide, with an acute or acuminate apex. The inflorescences are leafy, compact terminal panicles up to 13 cm long and 25 cm wide. Fruits are club-shaped (claviform), flattened, and glabrous, measuring 10 to 12 mm long by 4 to 5 mm wide and 3 mm thick.
The genus was described by Augustin Pyrame de Candolle in 1838, published in the Bibliotheque Universelle de Geneve, with Bravaisia floribunda as the type species. The three currently recognized species are Bravaisia integerrima, Bravaisia berlandieriana, and Bravaisia grandiflora.
Distribution
Bravaisia is native to the tropical regions of the Americas, with a range extending from Mexico through Central America, and including Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, and Trinidad. The genus occurs in tropical lowland and coastal habitats across the Neotropics.
Taxonomy
The genus Bravaisia was described by Swiss botanist Augustin Pyrame de Candolle and published in 1838 in the Bibliotheque Universelle de Geneve (volume 17, pages 132–133). The type species is Bravaisia floribunda DC. The genus is placed in the family Acanthaceae, order Lamiales. Three species are currently recognized: Bravaisia integerrima, Bravaisia berlandieriana, and Bravaisia grandiflora.
