Compilation
Maerua uguenensis

2 Images see all

Previous
Next

Name

Identification
Maerua uguenensis Gilg ex Gilg & Benedict [family CAPPARACEAE ] Verified by Not on sheet., Maerua crassifolia Forssk. [family CAPPARACEAE ] (stored under name); Verified by Not on sheet.,
Related name
  • Maerua uguenensis
  • Maerua crassifolia

Flora

Entry for MAERUA crassifolia Forsk. [family CAPPARACEAE]
Herbarium
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (K)
Collection
Flora of Tropical East Africa
Resource Type
Reference Sources
Entry From
Flora of Tropical East Africa, page 1, (1964) Author: J. ELFFERS, R. A. GRAHAM AND G. P. DEWOLF
Names
MAERUA crassifolia Forsk. [family CAPPARACEAE], Fl. Aegypt.-Arab.: 104 (1775); Gilg & Bened. in E.J. 53: 250 (1915); Gilg in V.E. 3(1): 252, fig. 166/A (1915); T.T.C.L.: 118 (1949); F. W. Andr., Fl. Pl. A.-E. Sudan 1: 50 (1950); I.T.U., ed. 2: 75 (1952); F.W.T.A., ed. 2, 1: 88 (1954); K.T.S.: 125 (1961). Type: Arabia, Yemen, Forskål (C, holo. !)
MAERUA uniflora Vahl [family CAPPARACEAE], Symb. Bot. 1: 36 (1790); DC., Prodr. 1: 254 (1824); F.T.A. 1: 86 (1868), nom. illegit. Types: as M. crassifolia Forsk.
MAERUA meyeri-johannis Gilg [family CAPPARACEAE], in E.J. 51: 225 (1914); Gilg in V.E. 3(1): 252 (1915); T.T.C.L.: 118 (1949). Type: Tanganyika, Kilosa, Houy in Meyer 1142 (B, holo. !)
MAERUA uguenensis Gilg [family CAPPARACEAE], in E.J. 53: 251 (1915) & V.E. 3(1): 252, fig. 166D (1915); T.T.C.L.: 118 (1949). Types: Tanganyika, foot of N. Pare Mts., Engler 1654 (B, syn. !) & Masai District, lower Peninj R., Uhlig 294 (B, syn. !)
MAERUA hirtella Chiov. [family CAPPARACEAE], Fl. Somala 1: 83 (1929) & 2: 9 (1932). Type: Somali Republic (S.), between Obbia and Uarandi, Magghiole, Puccioni & Stefanini 474 (FI, holo. !)
Information
Small spreading much branched tree up to 9 m. tall, often with a rounded flattish crown. Young twigs usually densely hairy. Leaves disposed densely in fascicles along the older branchlets, singly on twigs of the current year, petiolate, simple; blade variable in shape and size, oblanceolate, obovate or obovate-elliptic, 1–5.2 cm. long, 0.4–3.3 cm. wide, apically obtuse to emarginate or more rarely acute, often fleshy, glabrous or more usually pubescent on both surfaces, the midrib prominent beneath; petiole up to 3(–7) mm. long. Inflorescence of usually 2–4 flowers fascicled in the axils of the clustered leaves; pedicels 3–10 mm. long, usually pubescent. Sepals 7–9 mm. long, rather obtuse, green, rather densely pubescent outside, less so within, or more rarely tomentellous only on the margin; receptacle cylindrical, 4–6.5 mm. long, brown; disk with a prominent laciniate free rim; torus elongating after anthesis. Petals 0. Stamens 23–45; filaments 10–18 mm. long, white. Ovary narrowly cylindrical, apparently glabrous. Fruits cylindrical, up to 5 cm. long, torulose, markedly constricted into globose sections, densely pubescent or rarely glabrous.
Range
DISTR. U1; K1–4, 6, 7; T1–6 Sudan Republic to Senegal and North Africa, also Ethiopia and Somali Republic to Arabia and Palestine
Altitude range
180–1620 m.
Distribution
KENYA Northern Frontier Province Moyale, 14 Aug. 1952, Gillett 13722 !;KENYA Baringo District Kamasia, near Mariget, 13 Mar. 1950, Bally 7743 !;KENYA Lamu District Mambore. 8 km, S, of Kiunga, Oct./Nov, 1956, Rawlins 172 !TANGANYIKA Shinyanga District Uduhe, 24 Jan. 1936, B. D. Burtt 5523!;TANGANYIKA Masai District 16 km. S. of Longido on the Arusha road, 22 Feb. 1953, Drummond & Hemsley 1264 !TANGANYIKA W. Mpwapwa, 8 Nov. 1934, Hornby 621 !UGANDA Karamoja District Moroto, 1937, Brasnett 78 ! & Moroto R., Feb. 1936, Eggeling 2988 ! & Nabilatuk, Feb. 1936, Eggeling 2803 !
Notes
M. meyeri-johannis is a southern form with markedly hairy, narrowly elliptic leaves; it passes, by intermediates, into the more typical northern plant, which is less densely hairy and has more obovate foliage. Rarely the leaves are subglabrous, e.g. Kenya, Masai District, Laitokitok, Vesey-FitzGerald 33 !.  Glabrous fruits sometimes occur, but the pericarp of the mature fruits is more usually densely pubescent and an interesting feature of this species is that this usually develops from a glabrous ovary, though sometimes a minute puberulence is visible.

Related Materials