Maerua crassifolia Forssk.

First published in Fl. Aegypt.-Arab.: cxiii (1775)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Sahara to Pakistan. It is a shrub or tree and grows primarily in the desert or dry shrubland biome.

Descriptions

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]

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/137749048/165379886

Conservation
LC - least concern
[IUCN]

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

Morphology General Habit
Shrub or tree; stems usually densely pubescent
Morphology Leaves
Leaves clustered on older branches, simple; blade oblanceolate to obovate, c. 10–40 x 7–22 mm, usually obtuse and mucronulate at the apex, pubescent, midrib raised beneath; petiole 1–5 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Flowers solitary or in 2–4-flowered clusters; pedicels 2–10 mm long, pubescent
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Receptacle
Receptacle cylindrical, c. 4–7 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Sepals (3–)4, 4–12 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals absent
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens c. 20–40; androgynophore as long as receptacle or exceeding it by up to 4 mm
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary
Ovary narrowly cylindrical, 2–4 mm long; gynophore 8–20 mm long and often recurved in fruit
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit 2.5–7 x 0.3–0.6 cm, torulose, pubescent, usually several-seeded.
Distribution
N1–3; C1, 2; S1–3 Eritrea, Ethiopia and west to Senegal, East Africa, Arabia and Israel and east to Pakistan.
Ecology
Altitude range 20–1000 m.
Note
The original type of M. crassifolia has recently turned out to belong to M. thomsonii T. Anders. (see below). To make possible the continued use of M. crassifolia in its traditional sense the name has been conserved with a new type (Kers & Thulin in Taxon 41: 588, 1992).
[FSOM]

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
  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
  • IUCN Categories

    • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/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
  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images