Assembly, annotation, and analysis of the first complete chloroplast genome of medicinal plant Pentas lanceolata (Forssk.) Deflers

Pentas lanceolata (Rubiaceae) is a perennial herb with ornamental and medicinal value, but lacks chloroplast (cp) genomic resources. Herein, we report its first complete cp genome: a 154,476 bp circular molecule (37.82% GC) with typical quadripartite structure, including LSC (84,407 bp, 35.79% GC), SSC (17,175 bp, 32.21% GC), and two IRs (26,447 bp each, 42.89% GC). Annotation recovered 127 genes (107 unique): 82 protein-coding (76 unique), 37 tRNA (27 unique), and eight rRNA (four unique) genes. IR boundaries show contraction and expansion. Phylogenetic analysis placed it in a clade associated with tribe Spermacoceae (bootstrap = 100%). These findings support evolutionary and genetic improvement studies of P. lanceolata.