Compilation
Psychotria herbacea

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Name

Identification
Geophila obvallata (Schumach.) Didrichsen [family RUBIACEAE ] (stored under name); Verified by Not on Sheet, Psychotria obvallata Schumach. [family RUBIACEAE ] Verified by Not on Sheet, Psychotria herbacea Not on sheet [family RUBIACEAE ] Verified by Not on Sheet,
Related name
  • Geophila reniformis
  • Geophila obvallata
  • Psychotria affin.
  • Geophila cordata
  • Psychotria herbacea
  • Rondeletia repens
  • Geophila repens
  • Psychotria obvallata

Flora

Entry for GEOPHILA repens (L.) I. M. Johnston [family RUBIACEAE]
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, (1976) Author: B. VERDCOURT
Names
GEOPHILA repens (L.) I. M. Johnston [family RUBIACEAE], in Sargentia 8: 281, 282 (1949); Brenan in Mem. N.Y. Bot. Gard. 8: 453 (1954); Hepper in F.W.T.A., ed. 2, 2: 205 (1963); Steyerm. in Mem. N.Y. Bot. Gard. 23: 395 (1972); F.P.U., ed. 2: 164, fig. 106 (1972); Verdc. in K.B. 28: 321, fig. 1/2 A–C (1973); U.K.W.F.: 407 (1974). Types: Rheede, Hort. Malabar. 10, t. 21 (1690) & Sloane, A Voyage . . . Jamaica 1: 243 (1707)
Rondeletia repens L. [family RUBIACEAE], Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 2: 928 (1759)
Psychotria herbacea Jacq. [family RUBIACEAE], Enum. Pl. Carib.: 16 (1760). Type: W. Indies, Jacquin (? W, holo.)
Psychotria herbacea L. [family RUBIACEAE], Sp. Pl., ed. 2: 245 (1762), non Jacq., nom. illegit. Type: Jamaica, P. Browne (probably LINN, but specimen not labelled Browne)
Geophila reniformis D. Don [family RUBIACEAE], Prodr. Fl. Nepal.: 136 (1825); Hiern in F.T.A. 3: 220 (1877). Type: Bangladesh, Sylhet, Wallich (BM, holo.!)
Geophila uniflora Hiern [family RUBIACEAE], in F.T.A. 3: 221 (1877); F. Hallé, Ic. Pl. Afr. 7, No. 156 (1965). Types: Nigeria, Nupe, Barter (K, syn.!) & Sudan, Niamniamland, Nabambiso, Schweinfurth 3856 (K, syn.!, BM, isosyn.!)
Geophila herbacea (L.) K. Schum. [family RUBIACEAE], in E. & P. Pf. 4(4): 119 (1891); S. Moore in Fl. Jam. 7: 111, fig. 32 (1936), as “(Jacq.) K. Schum.”; Bremek. in Pulle, Fl. Suriname 4: 234 (1934)
Carinta herbacea (Jacq.) W. F. Wight [family RUBIACEAE], in Contr. U.S. Nat. Herb. 9: 216 (1905)
Geocardia herbacea (L.) Standley [family RUBIACEAE], in Contr. U.S. Nat. Herb. 17: 444 (1914)
Carinta uniflora (Hiern) G. Taylor [family RUBIACEAE], in Exell, Cat. Vasc. Pl. S. Tomé, Suppl.: 25 (1956)
Carinta repens (L.) L. B. Smith & Downs [family RUBIACEAE], in Sellowia 7: 88 (1956)
Geocardia repens (L.) Bakh. f. [family RUBIACEAE], in Backer, Beknopte Fl. Java 15, fam. 173: 144 (1956)
Information
Creeping herb with stems 20–30 cm. long, densely adpressed pubescent, rooting at the nodes; leafy and flowering shoots reaching a height of 3–7.5 cm. above ground-level. Leaf-blades rounded-reniform, 1.2–3.6(–5) cm. long, 1.3–4.3(–5.5) cm. wide, very rounded at the apex, emarginate-cordate at the base, glabrous above, glabrous or pubescent beneath; petiole 0.4–11.5 cm. long, adpressed or spreading pubescent; stipules transversely elliptic, almost truncate, 1.5 mm. long, 2–3.5 mm. wide. Flowers not truly heterostylous, solitary, or more rarely up to 2 or even 3–5 in American material; peduncle 0.5–4.3 cm. long, pubescent; bracts 1–2, lanceolate, 2.5–4 mm. long. Calyx-tube obconic, 1.2–2 mm. long, pubescent; limb-tube 0.8–1.2 mm. long; lobes lanceolate, 1.5–3 mm. long, 0.5–0.7 mm. wide at base. Corolla white; tube cylindrical, 0.5–1.3 cm. long, finely pubescent; lobes oblong-elliptic, 4–9 mm. long, 2–5 mm. wide, basal part of limb funnel-shaped. Anthers and style included, the latter 3.5–7 mm. long; stigma 0.25–0.5 mm. long, either level with or reaching beyond the anthers. Berries globose, bright red or orange, glossy, glabrous, 0.5–1.2 cm. in diameter, crowned by the persistent lobes. Pyrenes greyish or straw-coloured, half-ovoid, 3.5–4.1 mm. long, 3–3.5 mm. wide, dorsal side convex, rugose, ventral side flat, rugose, with a narrow impressed smooth annular area where the 2 areas join. Seeds with chestnut coloured testa easily removable to show the white endosperm, lenticular, 3 mm. long, 2.8 mm. wide, 1 mm. thick, smooth. Fig. 7/1, 2.
Range
DISTR. U2, 4; K4, 5, 7; T1, 3,?4, 6 pantropical, in Africa from Guinea Bissau to Angola, Zaire, Sudan, Malawi, Rhodesia and Madagascar
Altitude range
80–1600 m.
Distribution
KENYA Kwale District Mrima Hill, 16 Jan. 1962, Verdcourt 3939A! & Buda Mafisini Forest, 19 Aug. 1953, Drummond & Hemsley 3891! & same locality, 3 Nov. 1959, Napper 1379!TANZANIA Lushoto District E. Usambara Mts., Amani, 15 May 1950, Verdcourt 203A! & same locality, 20 Apr. 1968, Renvoize & Abdallah 1645!TANZANIA Morogoro District Nguru Mts., Greenway! (cultivated at Kew from seeds and rootstocks, Dec. 1954)UGANDA Kigezi District Ishasha Gorge, May 1950, Purseglove 3412!UGANDA Mengo District Entebbe road, Kajansi Forest, July 1935, Chandler 1274! & Kyagwe [Kiagwe], Mau Forest, May 1932, Eggeling 433!
Notes
This species is fairly uniform in the Old World but New World specimens often have up to 5-flowered (and only rarely 1-flowered) inflorescences and hence a rather different appearance. Possibly the Old World material could form a subspecies with a name based on G. reniformis, I am unable to agree with Hepper that G. lancistipula Hiern (in F.T.A. 3: 221 (1877); F.W.T.A. 2: 128 (1931); type: Gabon?, Sierra del Crystal 1°N., Mann 1087 (K, holo.!)) is a synonym of G. repens; it differs in having dark blue hairy fruits, pyrenes of a very different shape and somewhat differently shaped leaf-blades.The T4 records are based on three sterile Peter specimens, 35837 (Uvinsa, SW. of Malagarasi, 30 Jan. 1926), 36316 (Uvinsa, side of Malagarasi Valley, 5 Feb. 1926) and 37145 (Ujiji, Machaso to Mkuti R., 19 Feb. 1926). Fruits are needed to confirm to which species these belong.

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