Uncarina stellulifera
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Uncarina stellulifera |
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| Humbert |
Uncarina stellulifera is a species of plant in the genus Uncarina in the sesame family (Pedaliaceae).
description
Uncarina stellulifera grows as a small tree and is up to 3.5 meters high. It forms an almost dense crown with rising branches. The egg-shaped to triangular leaf blades are 12 by 10 centimeters. 3 indistinct lobes are formed and the leaf margin is entire. On the green upper side of the leaf there are only a few short-stalked mucous glands with a star-shaped head and only a few simple hairs, which rarely have a reduced head. The underside of the leaf appears greyish green due to the dense covering with short-stalked mucous glands with a clearly star-shaped head. Individual mucous glands with a spherical head and simple hairs stand along the leaf veins.
The inflorescence consists of cymes with 1 to 2 individual flowers that do not form dense clusters. The pale pink to slightly purple colored flowers have a red throat opening from which red lines extend to the corolla lobes and fade there. The flower tube is about 4.5 inches long.
The fruit is not compressed laterally and therefore has an almost circular cross-section. When viewed from the side, it is egg-shaped and has a long, blunt, and edged beak . On the fruit, which is 4 to 5 centimeters long and 1 to 1.5 centimeters wide, two different spine shapes are formed. The approximately 5 hook spikes per row are up to 30 millimeters long and do not protrude beyond the beak. Many simple spines are formed and these are often transformed into small bumps. Complete false partitions are formed. The obovate seeds are 6 millimeters long and 4 millimeters wide and have 0.5 millimeter wings.
Distribution and systematics
Uncarina stellulifera is endemic in south-west Madagascar , in the south-west of the province of Toliara , between limestone cliffs. The species has a relatively small range and has some features in common with Uncarina abbreviata . But they differ significantly in the case of the fruits.
The species was first described in 1962 by Jean-Henri Humbert .
literature
- H.-D. Ihlenfeldt: Uncarina . In: Urs Eggli (Hrsg.): Succulent lexicon. Volume 2: Dicotyledonous plants , Ulmer, Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-8001-3915-4 , pp. 384-385
Web links
- Overview with many plant photos at bihrmann.com
Individual evidence
- ↑ Adansonia Series 2, Volume 2, p. 210, 1962.