Pavonia urens Cav.

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

Type

Type: Cultivated in Madrid, Herb. Madrid 476081 & 476082 (M, syn.) (microfiche!)*

Morphology General Habit

Shrubby herb or shrub 0.6–2(–4.5)m tall.

Morphology Branches

Branches with rather rough ± irritating large stellate and/or simple hairs, rarely glabrescent

Morphology Leaves

Leaves cordate to reniform in outline, 4.5–23 × 5.5–24 cm, shallowly to more deeply 3–7-lobed, the lobes triangular, acute to acuminate or some leaves can be narrowly triangular but cordate at base or lanceolate, margins coarsely toothed, finely pilose to very denselyvelvety above with stellate and or simple hairs, densely pilose to very densely velvety beneath; petiole 4–23 cm long

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers solitary or in dense clusters, forming spikelike panicles, sessile or pedicel 0–8 mm long; epicalyx bracts 8–10, linear, 5–11 mm long, 0.5–1 mm wide, appressed to the calyx; calyx 6–8 mm long, long-pilose with simple hairs, particularly on the veins

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Petals pink to red or purple, darker at base, 1.5–3.5 cm long, staminal column 1–2(–2.6) cm long

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Mericarps 5–6 mm long, glabrescent or puberulous, reticulate on the back and with 3 apical retrorsely barbed awns (3–)5–8 mm long.

Note

In his manuscript Fryxell has suggested P-JU 12349 is the ‘holotype’ but I prefer to select specimens from which Cavanilles drew up his descriptions.

Malvaceae, A. W. Exell. Flora Zambesiaca 1:2. 1961

Morphology General Habit

Erect suffrutex or shrub, 1–3 m. tall, usually densely pubescent on stems and leaves, sometimes also with longer soft hairs and/or with coarse harsh and slightly pungent hairs (the latter causing a slight irritation of the skin) but indumentum varying from pubescent to densely to sparsely tomentose-velutinous.

Morphology Leaves

Leaf-lamina 3–20 cm. in diam., suborbicular-cordate in outline, the lower surface usually more densely pubescent than the usually ± scabrid upper surface, usually 3–5-lobed; lobes triangular, acute and coarsely serrate-dentate; petiole 0·4–7 cm. long, usually fairly uniform in length in one specimen; stipules c. 5 mm. long (occasionally longer), filiform, usually caducous.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers pale pink to mauve or rather deep mauve-red, in subsessile clusters or in pedunculate few-flowered inflorescences, occasionally solitary, in the upper leaf-axils of the main branches and also sometimes on axillary short shoots; peduncle up to 5 cm. long; pedicels usually very short but up to 7 cm. long in some flowers.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Epicalyx

Epicalyx of 6–8 bracts, nearly as long as the calyx; bracts free, linear, pubescent and ciliate.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx 8–10 mm. long, cupuliform, densely pubescent and ciliate, glabrescent in fruit, lobed to about the middle; lobes usually narrowly triangular, acute to acuminate.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Petals up to 2 cm. long.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Staminal tube glabrous.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Mericarps c. 5 mm. long (excluding the 3 apical protuberances or awns which are retrorsely spinose-hispid and (1) 5 (7) mm. long), dorsally reticulate with slightly raised ridges, somewhat pubescent.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds 4 × 2 mm., reniform, faintly longitudinally striate.