Rubiaceae
Anthospermum
Anthospermum ternatum

Anthospermum ternatum subsp. randii (S.Moore) Puff

First published in Pl. Syst. Evol., Suppl. 3: 285 (1986)
This subspecies is accepted
The native range of this subspecies is S. Tropical Africa. It is an annual and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

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

Morphology General Habit
Annual or shrubby herb 0.7–2 m. tall; stems mostly sparsely branched, at first densely covered with white spreading hairs but finally glabrescent and with a somewhat peeling epidermis.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves in whorls of 3–4 or at least some leaves opposite and also with short undeveloped axillary leafy shoots giving a verticillate appearance; blades linear-lanceolate to linear-oblong, 1–3.5 (–4.7) cm. long, (1–)2.5–3(–7) mm. wide, acute or subacute at the apex, narrowed to the base, revolute, ± discolorous, pubescent or scabrid above and more densely so beneath, particularly on the main nerves which are not markedly whitish; petioles obsolete; stipules with mostly 1 seta 3–5 mm. long from a base 0.5–1 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers in ± sessile axillary several-flowered clusters, hermaphrodite or unisexual and monoecious or dioecious, 4-merous (hermaphrodite) or 5-merous (♀); pedicels 0–0.8 mm. long. Male flowers:calyx-tube 0.8–1 mm. long, the lobes minute; corolla yellow or yellowish green, pubescent outside; tube 1.5–3 mm. long; lobes elliptic, 2.6 mm. long, 1 mm. wide; filaments exserted 2–2.5 mm.; rudimentary styles 0.5 mm. long, almost free. Female flowers with corolla-tube 2.3 mm. long, lobes 1.5 mm. long; style 4.7–15 mm. long, joined and glabrous for 0.7–1.5 mm., the branches papillose.
sex Male
Male flowers:calyx-tube 0.8–1 mm. long, the lobes minute; corolla yellow or yellowish green, pubescent outside; tube 1.5–3 mm. long; lobes elliptic, 2.6 mm. long, 1 mm. wide; filaments exserted 2–2.5 mm.; rudimentary styles 0.5 mm. long, almost free.
sex Female
Female flowers with corolla-tube 2.3 mm. long, lobes 1.5 mm. long; style 4.7–15 mm. long, joined and glabrous for 0.7–1.5 mm., the branches papillose.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit glabrous or pubescent, the cocci 2–3 mm. long, 1–1.2 mm. wide, not crowned with the calyx-limb.
Habitat
Rocky hills and bracken hillsides; 1650–2400 m.
Distribution
T4 T5
[FTEA]

Sources

  • 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