Caralluma acutangula
| Caralluma acutangula | ||||||||||||
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Caralluma acutangula , from Yomboli, Burkina Faso |
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| Caralluma acutangula | ||||||||||||
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Caralluma acutangula is a species of the genus Caralluma from the subfamily of the silk plant family (Asclepiadoideae), which is assigned to the dog poison family(Apocynaceae). It is one of the largest species in the Caralluma genus.
features
Caralluma acutangula is a branched, perennial, stem succulent plant that reaches heights and diameters of up to 75 cm. The pale green to whitish shoots measure up to 15 cm in diameter and are square with strongly concave sides. The edges are covered with pointed, approximately triangular, downward-curved warts. The perennial leaves are very small (about 1 mm × 1 mm).
The zymous inflorescence comprises up to 100 flowers, which are arranged in a hemisphere and open almost simultaneously. The hermaphrodite, radial symmetry , five-fold flowers are usually only about 2 cm in diameter and have a double perianth . The five sepals are fused. The five deep purple petals are spread out flat to slightly overgrown bell-shaped. The pointed, triangular corolla lobes measure about 8 × 8 mm. They are densely covered with fine warts and purple downy hairs. The edges of the crown lobes are usually ciliate. The purple-brown secondary crown has a diameter of about 5 mm and is also covered with downy hair. There are two free, upper carpels .
The slender, 14 cm long follicles have a diameter of about 1 cm and are arranged in pairs and horn-shaped.
Occurrence
This species occurs in the Sahel zone from Mauritania in the west to Ethiopia , Somalia and Kenya in the east of Africa . The occurrence extends further to the Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia and North Yemen).
Systematics
Müller and Albers put a number of other species (and varieties) as synonyms for the species Caralluma acutangula . These are: Boucerosia Russel liana Courbon ex Brogniart , Caralluma hirtiflora N.E.Brown , Boucerosia tombuctuensis A.Chevalier , Desmidorchis retrospiciens Ehrenberg , (nom inval..) Caralluma retrospiciens var. Glabra N.E.Brown and Caralluma retrospiciens var. Laxiflora Maire . This species is closely related to Caralluma editae and Caralluma somalica .
literature
- Focke Albers, Ulli Meve (Hrsg.): Succulent lexicon Volume 3 Asclepiadaceae (silk plants). 322 p., Ulmer, Stuttgart 2002 ISBN 978-3-8001-3982-8 .
Web links
- Caralluma acutangula at GRIN
- Caralluma acutangula . In: U. Brunken, M. Schmidt, S. Dressler, T. Janssen, A. Thiombiano, G. Zizka: West African plants - A Photo Guide. Senckenberg Research Institute, Frankfurt am Main 2008.