Genomes from Coleus comosus and an interspecific hybrid facilitate taxonomic classification

Abstract Coleus comosus Hochst. ex Gürke is an East African semi-succulent herb widely cultivated for remedial uses and ornamental landscaping. The rich specialised metabolite contents of C. comosus and closely related Coleus species have attracted considerable biochemical interest, but difficulties with accurate identification of species within the genus have hindered the systematic investigation and accurate identification of bioactive constituents. We provide two genome assemblies: a contig-level C. comosus genome assembly and a pseudochromosome-level genome assembly of an interspecific hybrid Coleus accession ( Coleus comosus x Coleus neochilus ). The C. comosus genome assembly spans 1.57 Gb with a contig N50 of 96.52 Mb. The hybrid Coleus genome is fully phased to 30 pseudochromosomes which sum up to 2.60 Gb, with its scaffold N50 reaching 86.9 Mb. Both genome assemblies are highly complete at the gene level; the C. comosus genome has a BUSCO completeness score of 98.9% and the genome assembly of the hybrid Coleus accession scored 99.2%. These two genome assemblies provide a foundation for future studies into specialised metabolic pathways and taxonomic classification within the genus Coleus .