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STREPTOPETALUM graminifolium Urb. [family TURNERACEAE]

Date Updated: 19 August 2007

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, (1954) Author: J. Lewis
Names
STREPTOPETALUM graminifolium Urb. [family TURNERACEAE], in N.B.G.B. 1: 31 (1895). Type: Tanganyika, Tabora District, Gonda, Boehm 260 (B, holo. )
Information
Caulescent homophyllous annual up to 0.4 m. tall. Stem both spreading-yellow-pubescent and crisped-puberulous, and setiferous especially near the upper nodes; setae yellow and bulbous-based. Leaves subsessile or petiole up to 1.5 mm. long, linear, up to ± 10 cm. x 2–3 mm., entire and minutely substipitate-glandular, both surfaces pubescent, not setiferous. Inflorescence racemose, up to 20 cm. long, up to 18-flowered; bracteoles 5–8 mm. long; pedicels 1–2 mm. long. Calyx longly pubescent and shortly setiferous, tube ± 6 mm. long, hairy within on lower 2 mm.; lobes ± 4 mm. long. Petals not seen complete. Filaments adnate to calyx for 0.5 mm., all 7 mm. long. Styles very short, scarcely 2 mm. long. Ovary ellipsoid, shortly and densely hirsute. Capsule up to 6 x 5 mm., very shortly beaked, fairly densely setiferous below. Seeds curved, ± 2.75 mm. long; aril exceeding half the length of the seed.
Range
DISTR. T4 known only from the above locality
Altitude range
about 1000 m.
Distribution
TANGANYIKA Tabora District Gonda (lat. 5° 33′ S., long. 32° 42′ E.), April 1882, Boehm 260.
Notes
The above description, adapted from that of Urban, shows a number of unique features. This is the only Streptopetalum with the filament-adnation less than 2 mm. long, as it is in Wormskioldia, and this measurement is therefore suspect. Heterostyly is suspected (“Flores dimorphi?” Urban), heterophylly not observed and the plant is reported as an annual. The suspicion arises that this represents a perennial species in its first year, and that it is in fact a narrow-leaved variant of a species, the more common examples of which have been described more recently under the name S. wittei Staner in De Wild. & Staner, Contrib. Fl. Katanga, Suppl. 4: 68 (1932). Types: Belgian Congo, Kiambi, de Witte 237 and Luxen 26 and 50 (all B, syn.!, all K, photo.!) a species of the Belgian Congo and N. Rhodesia. Re-collection of S. graminifolium (in Tanganyika) is required to confirm or deny this hypothesis, in connection with which the occurrence of similarly very narrow-leaved variants of W. longepedunculata is worthy.

Date Updated: 19 August 2007

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, (1954) Author: J. Lewis
Names
STREPTOPETALUM graminifolium Urb. [family TURNERACEAE], in N.B.G.B. 1: 31 (1895). Type: Tanganyika, Tabora District, Gonda, Boehm 260 (B, holo. )
Information
Caulescent homophyllous annual up to 0.4 m. tall. Stem both spreading-yellow-pubescent and crisped-puberulous, and setiferous especially near the upper nodes; setae yellow and bulbous-based. Leaves subsessile or petiole up to 1.5 mm. long, linear, up to ± 10 cm. x 2–3 mm., entire and minutely substipitate-glandular, both surfaces pubescent, not setiferous. Inflorescence racemose, up to 20 cm. long, up to 18-flowered; bracteoles 5–8 mm. long; pedicels 1–2 mm. long. Calyx longly pubescent and shortly setiferous, tube ± 6 mm. long, hairy within on lower 2 mm.; lobes ± 4 mm. long. Petals not seen complete. Filaments adnate to calyx for 0.5 mm., all 7 mm. long. Styles very short, scarcely 2 mm. long. Ovary ellipsoid, shortly and densely hirsute. Capsule up to 6 x 5 mm., very shortly beaked, fairly densely setiferous below. Seeds curved, ± 2.75 mm. long; aril exceeding half the length of the seed.
Range
DISTR. T4 known only from the above locality
Altitude range
about 1000 m.
Distribution
TANGANYIKA Tabora District Gonda (lat. 5° 33′ S., long. 32° 42′ E.), April 1882, Boehm 260.
Notes
The above description, adapted from that of Urban, shows a number of unique features. This is the only Streptopetalum with the filament-adnation less than 2 mm. long, as it is in Wormskioldia, and this measurement is therefore suspect. Heterostyly is suspected (“Flores dimorphi?” Urban), heterophylly not observed and the plant is reported as an annual. The suspicion arises that this represents a perennial species in its first year, and that it is in fact a narrow-leaved variant of a species, the more common examples of which have been described more recently under the name S. wittei Staner in De Wild. & Staner, Contrib. Fl. Katanga, Suppl. 4: 68 (1932). Types: Belgian Congo, Kiambi, de Witte 237 and Luxen 26 and 50 (all B, syn.!, all K, photo.!) a species of the Belgian Congo and N. Rhodesia. Re-collection of S. graminifolium (in Tanganyika) is required to confirm or deny this hypothesis, in connection with which the occurrence of similarly very narrow-leaved variants of W. longepedunculata is worthy.

Date Updated: 19 August 2007

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, (1954) Author: J. Lewis
Names
STREPTOPETALUM graminifolium Urb. [family TURNERACEAE], in N.B.G.B. 1: 31 (1895). Type: Tanganyika, Tabora District, Gonda, Boehm 260 (B, holo. )
Information
Caulescent homophyllous annual up to 0.4 m. tall. Stem both spreading-yellow-pubescent and crisped-puberulous, and setiferous especially near the upper nodes; setae yellow and bulbous-based. Leaves subsessile or petiole up to 1.5 mm. long, linear, up to ± 10 cm. x 2–3 mm., entire and minutely substipitate-glandular, both surfaces pubescent, not setiferous. Inflorescence racemose, up to 20 cm. long, up to 18-flowered; bracteoles 5–8 mm. long; pedicels 1–2 mm. long. Calyx longly pubescent and shortly setiferous, tube ± 6 mm. long, hairy within on lower 2 mm.; lobes ± 4 mm. long. Petals not seen complete. Filaments adnate to calyx for 0.5 mm., all 7 mm. long. Styles very short, scarcely 2 mm. long. Ovary ellipsoid, shortly and densely hirsute. Capsule up to 6 x 5 mm., very shortly beaked, fairly densely setiferous below. Seeds curved, ± 2.75 mm. long; aril exceeding half the length of the seed.
Range
DISTR. T4 known only from the above locality
Altitude range
about 1000 m.
Distribution
TANGANYIKA Tabora District Gonda (lat. 5° 33′ S., long. 32° 42′ E.), April 1882, Boehm 260.
Notes
The above description, adapted from that of Urban, shows a number of unique features. This is the only Streptopetalum with the filament-adnation less than 2 mm. long, as it is in Wormskioldia, and this measurement is therefore suspect. Heterostyly is suspected (“Flores dimorphi?” Urban), heterophylly not observed and the plant is reported as an annual. The suspicion arises that this represents a perennial species in its first year, and that it is in fact a narrow-leaved variant of a species, the more common examples of which have been described more recently under the name S. wittei Staner in De Wild. & Staner, Contrib. Fl. Katanga, Suppl. 4: 68 (1932). Types: Belgian Congo, Kiambi, de Witte 237 and Luxen 26 and 50 (all B, syn.!, all K, photo.!) a species of the Belgian Congo and N. Rhodesia. Re-collection of S. graminifolium (in Tanganyika) is required to confirm or deny this hypothesis, in connection with which the occurrence of similarly very narrow-leaved variants of W. longepedunculata is worthy.
STREPTOPETALUM graminifolium Urb. [family TURNERACEAE]
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