Habropetalum dawei
| Habropetalum dawei | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Habropetalum | ||||||||||||
| Airy Shaw | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Habropetalum dawei | ||||||||||||
| ( Hutch. & Dalziel ) Airy Shaw |
Habropetalum dawei is the only plant species of the monotypical genus Habropetalum from the family of the hook leaf family(Dioncophyllaceae) and is native to Sierra Leone.
description
The species is a poisonous liana . As far as the surrounding vegetation allows it, it climbs, but mostly it forms an independent shrub. It is very scaly to flaky hair, the hair is rust-red. The stem axis is finely grooved, the petiole broad, narrowly winged and immobile.
Its inflorescence , densely covered with attractive flowers , has pronounced bracts . The flowers either open early in the morning and fall off before noon, or open late in the afternoon and fall off the next morning. The large, roof-tiled sepals are elongated-elliptical. The large petals are delicate and white. The ten stamens are elongated. The two unwaxed and unbranched, thread-like styluses bear heady scars .
The fruit is a capsule and has two valves. Compared to the funiculi and the seeds, it is inconspicuous and small, due to which the capsule itself has almost no function. The funiculus is extremely thickened, 2 to 3.5 centimeters long and 2 millimeters thick. The massive and despite their size, light, thick disc-shaped seeds measure 4.5 to 5.5 centimeters in diameter when ripe, are 2 to 3 centimeters thick and have a 1 to 2.5 centimeter long wing. Presumably they are spread through water.
Distribution and ecology
Habropetalum dawei is only native to a small area in the south-east of Sierra Leone in West Africa. There it is found on sandy scrubland near the coast that is flooded during the rainy season. The locations are rarely densely overgrown, but mostly characterized by open, barren and grassy vegetation. Ochna multiflora , Hymenocardia lyrata and Hymenocardia heudelotii are often associated .
A predator, probably the larva of a small butterfly , often destroys the flowers, which is why fruit set rarely occurs. Two mushrooms were picked up on the leaves, one species from the genus Dictyopeltis and the other one from the genus Clypeolum .
Systematics and botanical history
The species was first described in 1927 as Dioncophyllum dawei by John Hutchinson and John McEwan Dalziel , first Herbert Kenneth Airy Shaw placed it in its own genus Habropetalum in 1951 .
Ethnobotany
Ropes are made from the stem axis of the plant called "tawma (tawmei)" or "toma (tomai)" or "sangi" in Sierra Leone. The young leaves of the plant are crushed and used as fish poison or, mixed with palm oil , are used to rub the feet, which is considered a very effective means of treating sand fleas .
proof
- ↑ JPM Brenan: Some Aspects of the Phytogeography of Tropical Africa , in: Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, Vol. 65, No. 2, p. 460, 1978
- ↑ a b c d e f Airy Shaw: On the Dioncophyllaceae, a remarkable new family of flowering plants. In: Kew Bulletin, 1951, pp. 327-347
- ↑ HM Burkill: The useful plants of west tropical Africa , Vol. 1, 1985, Online ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
