Genomes from Coleus comosus and an interspecific hybrid facilitate taxonomic classification

Coleus comosus Hochst. ex Gürke is an East African semi-succulent herb widely cultivated for remedial uses and ornamental landscaping. The rich specialised metabolite content of C. comosus and closely related Coleus species have attracted considerable biochemical interests, but difficulties with accurate identification of species within the genus has 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 spans 1.57 Gb with a contig N50 of 96.52 Mb. The hybrid Coleus genome is fully phased to 30 pseudochromosomes and sum up to 2.60 Gb. Both genome assemblies are highly complete; the C. comosus genome had 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.