Bridelia Willd.

Euphorbiaceae, A. R.-Smith. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1987

Habit

Monoecious or rarely dioecious shrubs or trees with a simple indumentum

Branches

Branches sometimes armed with blunt woody thorns

Twigs

Twigs lenticellate

Leaves

Leaves alternate, shortly petiolate, stipulate, simple, usually entire, penninerved, the nerves straight, arched or looped, the tertiary nerves usually parallel

Flowers

Flowers small, axillary, solitary, glomerulate or fasciculate, or in spikes or panicles of glomerulate fascicles Female flowers in few-flowered clusters or solitary, sometimes pedicellate; sepals and petals perigynous, otherwise ± as in the male; outer disc annular, inner disc lobed or cupular and embracing the ovary; ovary 2(–3)-locular, with 2 ovules per locule; styles 2(–3), free or connate at the base, bifid or subentire Male flowers in many-flowered glomeruli, sometimes with 1–2 ♀ flowers admixed, sessile or subsessile; sepals 5, valvate; petals 5, small, inflexed over the disc or quincuncially imbricate; disc annular or cupuliform, entire or sinuate; stamens 5, filaments united below into a short column, free and spreading above, anthers horizontal, basifixed, the thecae parallel, longitudinally dehiscent; pistillode at the top of the staminal column, ampulliform, entire or 2–4-lobate

Bracts

Bracts small, scaly

Male

Male flowers in many-flowered glomeruli, sometimes with 1–2 ♀ flowers admixed, sessile or subsessile; sepals 5, valvate; petals 5, small, inflexed over the disc or quincuncially imbricate; disc annular or cupuliform, entire or sinuate; stamens 5, filaments united below into a short column, free and spreading above, anthers horizontal, basifixed, the thecae parallel, longitudinally dehiscent; pistillode at the top of the staminal column, ampulliform, entire or 2–4-lobate

Female

Female flowers in few-flowered clusters or solitary, sometimes pedicellate; sepals and petals perigynous, otherwise ± as in the male; outer disc annular, inner disc lobed or cupular and embracing the ovary; ovary 2(–3)-locular, with 2 ovules per locule; styles 2(–3), free or connate at the base, bifid or subentire

Fruits

Fruit a small, smooth, ovoid or globose berry or drupe, indehiscent, or else dehiscent; exocarp fleshy or pulpy; endocarp crustaceous, forming 2 (or by abortion 1) pyrenes

Seeds

Seeds often by abortion solitary in each pyrene, plano-convex and adaxially longitudinally grooved (2 pyrenes) or else U-shaped in transverse section and adaxially deeply excavate (1 pyrene); albumen copious, fleshy; embryo slightly or strongly curved; cotyledons broad, foliaceous, thin.