- Family: Ericaceae Durande
- Genus: Erica Tourn. ex L.
Erica whyteana Britten
- Genus: Erica Tourn. ex L.
This species is accepted, and its native range is Kenya to S. Tropical Africa.
[FZ]
Ericaceae, R. Ross. Flora Zambesiaca 7:1. 1983
- Habit
- Erect or trailing, sparingly branched sub–shrub 10–90 cm. tall.
- Branches
- Branchlets rather stout for the genus, 1·2–1·5 mm. diameter, occasionally more slender to 0·6 mm. diameter, glabrous, with strongly developed infra–foliar ridges.
- Leaves
- Leaves spirally arranged in 8 ranks or sub–verticillate in whorls of 4, occasionally 3 in the slenderest specimens, patent to appressed, very narrowly ovate, apices acute and shortly aristate, normally sulcate below but occasionally margins revolute and not meeting in the mid line at the back of the leaf, (3·5) 6·0–12·0 mm. long, (0·6) 0·8–1·5 (2·0) mm. broad, glabrous, usually with glandular teeth on the apparent margin more distant or absent towards the base; petioles glabrous, c. 1·5 mm. long.
- Flowers
- Flowers in the axils of the leaves on the upper 2–10 cm. of the stems.
- Pedicel
- Pedicels 2·5–15 mm. long, glabrous.
- Bracts
- Bract leaf–like, 2·5–5 mm. long, insertedd on the basal part of the pedicel, but sometimes absent.
- Bracteoles
- Bracteoles narrow, linear, acute, 0·7–2·5 mm. long, with very shortly stalked glands along the margin.
- Calyx
- Calyx segments free almost to the base, deep magenta to pink, broadly ovate, acute, 1·5–3·0 mm. long, usually (in specimens from the F.Z. area) reflexed, with minute glandular teeth along the margin.
- Corolla
- Corolla urceolate, deep magenta to pink to white, glabrous, 3·5–5·5 mm. long, 2·5–3·7 mm. broad, lobes obtusely pointed to rounded, sinuses acute, c. 0·8 mm. deep.
- Stamens
- Stamens 8, included, filaments c. 2 mm. long, anthers c. 0·8 mm. long, with aristate appendages c. 0·6 mm. long.
- Pistil
- Ovary globose, glabrous, c. 1 mm. in diameter; style stout, glabrous, 2·0–3·0 mm. long, about equalling the corolla, scarcely widened at the stigma.
[FTEA]
Ericaceae, Henk Beentje. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 2006
- Habit
- Subshrub 10– 45(– 90 ) cm high, erect or trailing, sparsely branched; root thick and woody; branchlets red to brown, glabrous, with ridges below the leaves.
- Leaves
- Leaves spirally arranged or subverticillate in whorls of (3– )4, patent to appressed, green, often flushed with red, subulate, (3.5– )5– 12 mm long, (0.6– )0.8– 1.5(– 2) mm wide, acute and shortly aristate, glabrous, usually with glandular teeth on the margin; petiole ± 1.5 mm long.
- Flowers
- Flowers solitary in leaf axils forming a short leafy spike on the distal 2– 10 cm of branches; pedicel reddish, 2.5– 15 mm long, glabrous; bract leaf-like, 2.5– 5 mm long, in the basal part of the pedicel, sometimes at base of pedicel; bracteoles around the middle of the pedicel, linear, 0.7– 2.5 mm long.
- Calyx
- Calyx segments 4, almost free, reddish white or pink, broadly ovate, 1.5– 3 mm long, acute or acuminate, often reflexed (not in our area), with minute glandular teeth along the margin.
- Corolla
- Corolla urceolate, pink, often whitish at base, to pinky mauve, sometimes the tips darker, 4– 6 mm long, 2.5– 4 mm in diameter, the mouth about half that diameter, glabrous, lobes 4, obtuse to rounded, 0.8– 1 mm long.
- Stamens
- Stamens 8, included, anthers with two aristate basal appendages.
- Pistil
- Ovary globose, 1 mm, glabrous; style 2– 3 mm long, glabrous.
- Fruits
- Fruit reddish, globose, ± 2 mm, hidden within the persistent flower.
- Figures
- Fig. 3.
- Habitat
- Moorland, usually in swamps or next to streams and often growing in grass tussocks, occasionally in bamboo zone or upper forest zone; (1900– )2550– 3650 m (?3900 m)
- Distribution
- K2 K3 K4 T7
Native to:
Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zimbabwe
Erica whyteana Britten appears in other Kew resources:
| Date | Reference | Identified As | Barcode | Type Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1, 2002 | Jex-Blake [s.n.], Kenya | K000313831 | ||
| Apr 20, 1979 | Swynnerton, C.F.M. [1063], Zimbabwe | K000313816 | syntype | |
| Swynnerton, C.F.M. [1064], Zimbabwe | Erica swynnertonii | K000313817 | syntype |
First published in Trans. Linn. Soc. London, Bot. 4: 24 (1894)
Accepted by
- Govaerts, R. (2001). World Checklist of Seed Plants Database in ACCESS E-F: 1-50919.
- Launert, E. (ed.) (1983). Flora Zambesiaca 7(1): 1-394. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Literature
Flora of Tropical East Africa
- Agnew, A.D.Q. & Agnew, S., Upland Kenya Wild Flowers, ed. 2: 170, t. 65 (1994).
- R. Ross in Flora Zambesiaca 7(1): 167, frontispiece (1983).
- R. Ross in Bol. Soc. Brot. sér. 2, 53: 140 (1981)
- Britten in Trans. Linn. Soc., Bot. 4: 24, t. 5/7– 12 (1894).
Flora Zambesiaca
Flora Zambesiaca
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Flora of Tropical East Africa
Flora of Tropical East Africa
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Herbarium Catalogue Specimens
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Kew Backbone Distributions
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Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone
The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2021. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
© Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0