Kosteletzkya C.Presl

Malvaceae, Bernard Verdcourt & Geoffrey Mwachala. Pavonia, B Verdcourt; Kosteletzkya, OJ Blanchard Jr.; Gossypium, P Fryxell & B Verdcourt. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 2009

Morphology General Habit

Subshrubs or perennial or annual herbs, erect, ascending, climbing or procumbent; indument stellate, glandular or simple, but always with a line of minute curved hairs decurrent from one side of the leaf base and extending ± to the next node, this often somewhat obscured by other pubescence

Morphology Leaves

Leaves petiolate, unlobed or shallowly to deeply 3–5-lobed, the margin variously toothed or crenate or serrate or subentire; stipules linear or linear-subulate

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers single in the axils of the upper leaves or, by reduction of the upper leaves, forming open panicles or racemes or spiciform racemes, or the flowers coalesced into pedunculate glomerules

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Epicalyx

Epicalyx of 5–13 segments, these ± free

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx enlarging somewhat in fruit, lobed for about 2/5–5/6 its length

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla pink or white or yellow and sometimes with a red spot at base, coarsely pubescent dorsally where exposed in bud

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Staminal column 5-toothed at the apex, filamentiferous nearly throughout or mostly in the apical 1/3

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style

Style single, 5-fid at the orifice of the staminal column, stigmas capitate

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruit a depressed, 5locular, 5-angulate, often 5-crested capsule, the capsule valves often setose on the margins, separating from one another and from the fruiting axis at maturity, rarely tardily so

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds 1 per locule, reniform-obovate to reniform-globose, glabrous or pubescent and often with curved, concentric lines

Morphology General

Chromosome number X= 19.

Note

Kosteletzkya has come to embrace a number of discordant elements, and some of these must be excluded. Among them is the taxon treated here as Hibiscus vitifolius L. [ = Kosteletzkya vitifolia (L.) M. R. Almeida & N. Patil] . This genus has never been treated as a whole, although a number of regional floras have each included several species, e.g. F.W.T.A., ed. 2 (1958); Exell in F.Z. (1961); Hauman in F.C.B. (1963); Fryxell in Syst. Bot. Monogr. 25 (1988). The five East African species, though variable, offer few problems in circumscription or identification. Experimental hybrids among some of them have been produced in plants under cultivation (Blanchard, Proc. Indiana Acad. Sci. 86: 407 (1977)), and there is evidence of allopolyploid speciation in the genus as well (Blanchard, Amer. J. Bot. (Suppl.) 2: 941–942 (1985)), but no specimens among many hundreds that were examined could be interpreted as naturally occurring interspecific hybrids. Plants in most Kosteletzkya species, and in all Flora species, are self-compatible and their flowers are each open for only a single day. Over the course of the day the stigmas, which are at first more-or-less approximate, gradually recurve into the anther mass, ensuring selfpollination in the absence of outcrossing. Exogenous pollen halts the recurving process in at least one species (Ruan et al., S. Afr. J. Bot. 70: 640–645 (2004)). K. borkouana takes this recurving to extremes by usually selfing before the corolla has expanded in the morning. During dehiscence of the fruits, two or three adjacent valves often cohere and separate from the fruiting axis as a unit. Presumably they adhere to animal fur and feathers, affording a means of dispersal in the wild. Some species of Kosteletzkya have been described as stinging or urticating, including the East African K. begoniifolia and K. grantii, but no structural or chemical evidence has been reported. Most of the species are reported to have indigenous medicinal, ritual or other uses, notably K. grantii.

George R. Proctor (2012). Flora of the Cayman Isands (Second Edition). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Morphology General Habit

Herbs or shrubs, usually with harsh simple and stellate pubescence; leaves mostly sagittate or often angular-lobed; stipules linear or subulate

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers axillary and terminal, solitary or in few-flowered open cymes; epicalyx of 5–10 bracteoles, these sometimes minute or lacking

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx 5-lobed or 5-toothed; petals white, pink, purple or yellowish, either spreading or erect and convolute

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Staminal column with anthers on the outside

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary

Ovary 5-celled, each cell with 1 ovule; style 5-branched, with capitate or dilated stigmas

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruit a depressed, 5-angled, dehiscent capsule; seeds reniform, glabrous or puberulous.

Distribution

A genus of 12 species occurring in America, Africa, and the Mediterranean region.