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Psidium cattleianum Sabine [family MYRTACEAE]

Herbarium
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (K)
Collection
Flora Zambesiaca
Resource Type
Reference Sources
Entry From
FZ, Vol 4, Part 0, page 183, (1978) Author: F. White
Names
Psidium cattleianum Sabine [family MYRTACEAE], in Trans. Roy. Hort. Soc. 4: 317, t. 11 (1821).— Schroeder in Journ. Am. Arb. 27: 314 (1946).—Brenan & Greenway, T.T.C.L.: 378 (1949)—F. White, F.F.N.R.: 303 (1962).—Amshoffin Fl. Gab. 11: 5 (1966).— J. H. Ross, Fl. Natal: 261 (1972). Type from a plant cultivated in China.
Psidium littorale Raddi [family MYRTACEAE], Opusc. Sci. 4, 5: 254, t. 7 fig. 2 (?1822).—Merrill & Perry in Journ. Am. Arb. 19: 199 (1938). Type from Brazil.
Information
Evergreen shrub or small tree up to 8 m. tall; branchlets terete. Leaf-lamina up to 7·5 x 4 cm., apex cuspidate, base cuneate, lower surface glabrous; lateral nerves in c. 9 pairs, scarcely prominent beneath. Flowers white, solitary or in pairs, axillary. Calyx not quite enclosing the young flower-bud; lobes c. 0·2 x 0·3 cm., hemi-orbicular, spreading, glabrous inside. Petals c. 0·5 x 0·5 cm., suborbicular. Satmens c. 0·5 cm. long. Style c. 0·5 cm. long, distinctly capitate at apex. Berry up to 4 cm. in diameter, obovoid to globose, dark purple red.
Range
a native of S. America. It is naturalized locally.
Distribution
Malawi S Zomba Plateau, naturalized, fr. 7.ix.1961, Chapman 1452 (SRGH).Mozambique M Jardim Vasco da Gama, Lourenco Marques, cultivated, fr. 29.i.1971, Balsinhas 1786 (SRGH).Zimbabwe C National Botanic Gardens, Salisbury, cultivated, fl. & fr. 11.ii.1971, Biegel 344 (SRGH).Zambia N Mbala (Abercom) Distr., Sunzu Farm, cultivated, st. 18.xi.1952, White 3716 (FHO).
Notes
Evidence that P. cattleianum was published earlier than P. littorale is discussed by Schroeder (loc. cit.). The taxonomy of this species and its relatives is somewhat confused. Diploid and tetraploid races (2n = 44 & 88) of P. cattleianum are known. Some flowers are cleistogamous and others on the same plant open normally.
Psidium cattleianum Sabine [family MYRTACEAE]
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