Convolvulaceae
Merremia

Merremia verecunda Rendle

First published in D.Oliver & auct. suc. (eds.), Fl. Trop. Afr. 4(2): 110 (1905)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Zimbabwe to S. Africa. It is an annual and grows primarily in the subtropical biome.

Descriptions

Convolvulaceae, Maria Leonor Gonçalves. Flora Zambesiaca 8:1. 1987

Morphology General Habit
Trailing herb, about 1·5 m. long.
Morphology Stem
Stems usually several from the base, procumbent, rather slender, glabrous or thinly hairy.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves deeply palmately to pedately 7–9 (11)-sect, 2–8 cm. in diam., glabrous above, thinly pubescent beneath; leaflets linear-oblong, narrowly oblong-lanceolate or spathulate-obovate, acute or obtuse, apiculate, tapering at base into the very short portion of the leaf by which they are connected, the lateral ones gradually smaller; petiole up to 5 cm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence 1-flowered or occasionally cymosely 2–3 flowered; peduncle 5 mm. long; bracteoles linear or linear-lanceolate, acute, thinly pubescent; pedicels varying in length, at first erect or patent, ultimately reflexed.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx turbinate, 10–15 mm. long in flower, inflated in fruit; sepals unequal, ovate, subobtuse to acuminate, about 8 mm. long, concave, softly pubescent, with 6–7 purple-brown nerves deeply sulcate-plicate and with small purplish spots, hairy on the nerves, very accrescent in fruit, inner ones shorter and narrower, less concave, without or with only a few purplish stripes, not sulcate or plicate, hardly accrescent in fruit.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 15–20 mm. long, yellow or whitish with a purplish centre; the limb shallowly 5-lobed to pentagonal, glabrous or thinly pubescent towards the base.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule completely enclosed by the inflated calyx, somewhat depressed.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds black, shiny, smooth, glabrous except for minute flattened hairs along the ciliate angles.
[FZ]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Plants and People Africa

    • Common Names from Plants and People Africa http://www.plantsandpeopleafrica.com/
    • © Plants and People Africa http://www.plantsandpeopleafrica.com http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/