Rubiaceae
Pyrostria

Pyrostria phyllanthoidea (Baill.) Bridson

First published in Kew Bull. 42: 629 (1987)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Eritrea to Tanzania, SW. & S. Arabian Peninsula. It is a shrub or tree and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Morphology General Habit
Shrub or small tree, dioecious, glabrous
Morphology Leaves
Leaves sessile or almost so; blades oblong-elliptic to linear-oblong, 0.5–4.5 x 0.3–1.7 cm, rounded at apex; venation scarcely visible; stipules 1–3 mm long, apiculate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers unisexual, 4-merous, subtended by a pair of up to 2.5 mm long bracts, the male flowers 1–5 together, the female flowers solitary
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx-limb with up to c. 1 mm long lobes
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla white or yellowish; tube 2–5 mm long; lobes 2–4 mm long, shortly apiculate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit edible, ± heart-shaped, c. 7–10 x 9–11 mm, with 2 stones.
Distribution
N1–3; S2; Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Saudi Arabia
Ecology
Altitude range 940–1710 m in the north, c. 130 m in the south.
Vernacular
Gorurgi (Somali).
Note
The occurrences in the north link to populations in Eritrea and Ethiopia, whereas the single collection seen from southern Somalia (Thulin 6358) links to populations on the East African coast. The northern plants generally have smaller leaves than the southern ones.
[FSOM]

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]

Rubiaceae, B. Verdcourt. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1976

Morphology General Habit
Glabrous shrub, 1.8–4.5(–7) m. tall, with lateral branches often short and reduced to spurs; bark mid- to dark grey, often fissured.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves sessile to subsessile; blades drying grey-green or occasionally blackish, oblong-elliptic to linear-oblong, 0.5–3.6(–4.5) cm. long, 0.3–1.3(–1.7) cm. wide, rounded at apex, acute at base, with both lateral and tertiary nerves obscure or occasionally with lateral nerves somewhat apparent, subcoriaceous, dull above; domatia absent or present as ciliate to pubescent cavities; stipules triangular, apiculate, 1–3 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers unisexual or ? hermaphrodite, 4-merous; umbels sessile to subsessile. Functionally ♀ (and hermaphrodite) flowers 1–2; pedicels usually shorter; calyx-tube 0.75–1 mm. long. Functionally ♂ flowers 1–5; pedicels 1.5–3 mm. long; bracts ovate, 2–2.5 mm. long, acuminate; calyx-tube reduced; limb lobed to base; lobes triangular, 1–1.25 mm. long; corolla white or yellowish; tube 2–5 mm. long, densely congested with hairs at throat; lobes ovate, 2–4 mm. long, 1.5–2 mm. wide, shortly apiculate; stigmatic knob ± globose, 1 mm. in diameter.
sex Male
Functionally ♂ flowers 1–5; pedicels 1.5–3 mm. long; bracts ovate, 2–2.5 mm. long, acuminate; calyx-tube reduced; limb lobed to base; lobes triangular, 1–1.25 mm. long; corolla white or yellowish; tube 2–5 mm. long, densely congested with hairs at throat; lobes ovate, 2–4 mm. long, 1.5–2 mm. wide, shortly apiculate; stigmatic knob ± globose, 1 mm. in diameter.
sex Female
Functionally ♀ (and hermaphrodite) flowers 1–2; pedicels usually shorter; calyx-tube 0.75–1 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit orange-brown, edible, ± heart-shaped, usually slightly wider than long, 7–9 mm. long, 9–11 mm. wide, somewhat indented at apex; pyrene obovoid, flattened on ventral face, 7 mm. long, 4 mm. wide with a shallow crest around the apex, rugulose.
Habitat
In Acacia, Commiphora bushland, often on rocks, or sometimes in Brachystegia woodland; 0–2050 m.
Distribution
K1 K3 K4 K5 K6 K7 T1 T2 T3 T6 T7
[FTEA]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

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

  • Flora of Somalia

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

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • 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