Pentas lanceolata

Pentas lanceolata, commonly known as Egyptian starcluster,^[3] is a species of flowering plant in the madder family, Rubiaceae that is native to tropical Africa from Sudan to Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mozambique, as well as Saudi Arabia and Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula.^[2] It is sometimes planted in butterfly gardens.^[4]

Pentas lanceolata
P. lanceolata at Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Gentianales
Family:	Rubiaceae
Genus:	Pentas
Species:	P. lanceolata
Binomial name
Pentas lanceolata (Forssk.) Deflers[1]
Subspecies and varieties[2]
8; see text
Synonyms[2]
Manettia lanceolata (Forssk.) Vahl (1790) Mussaenda aegyptiaca Poir. (1797), nom. illeg. Mussaenda lanceolata (Forssk.) Spreng. (1824), nom. illeg. Mussaenda luteola Delile (1827), nom. illeg. Neurocarpaea lanceolata (Forssk.) R.Br. ex Hiern (1898) Ophiorrhiza lanceolata Forssk. (1775) Pseudomussaenda lanceolata (Forssk.) Wernham (1916) Vignaldia luteola Schweinf. (1867), nom. superfl. Virecta lanceolata (Forssk.) Baill. (1880)

Subspecies and varieties

Eight subspecies and varieties are accepted.^[2]

• Pentas lanceolata var. angustifolia Verdc. – Tanzania (Ufipa)
• Pentas lanceolata subsp. cymosa (Klotzsch) Verdc. – Comoro Islands
• Pentas lanceolata subsp. lanceolata – Eritrea to Mozambique and Saudi Arabia and Yemen
• Pentas lanceolata var. leucaster (K.Krause) Verdc. – eastern DR Congo to Ethiopia and northern Tanzania
• Pentas lanceolata var. nemorosa (Chiov.) Verdc. – Ethiopia, Kenya, and northern Tanzania
• Pentas lanceolata var. oncostipula (K.Schum.) Verdc. – Tanzania, Malawi, and Mozambique
• Pentas lanceolata subsp. quartiniana (A.Rich.) Verdc. – Eritrea, Ethiopia, Burundi, and eastern DR Congo
• Pentas lanceolata var. usambarica Verdc. – eastern Usambara Mountains of Tanzania

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  White flowers
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  Pink flowers
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  Pink flowers
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  Red flowers