Capparaceae
Maerua

Maerua denhardtiorum Gilg

First published in Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 33: 227 (1903)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Central Somalia to Kenya. It is a shrub and grows primarily in the desert or dry shrubland biome.

Descriptions

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

Morphology General Habit
Shrub, up to 3(–5) m tall; stems and leaves rough with short stiff hairs
Morphology Leaves
Leaves simple; blade ovate to broadly elliptic or suborbicular, 35–45(–70) x 20–30(–50) mm, rounded at the apex, leathery, midrib distinctly raised beneath; petiole (1–)2(–2.5) mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Flowers single in leaf axils; pedicel 16–23 mm long, elongating up to 37 mm in fruit
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Receptacle
Receptacle bowl-shaped, 2–2.5 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Sepals 4, 9–10 mm long, rough
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals absent
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 50–60; androgynophore c. 2 mm long in fruit
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary
Ovary ellipsoid, 3 mm long; gynophore up to 23 mm long in fruit
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruits globose or almost so, 2–3.5 cm in diam., warty, minutely hairy, yellowish when ripe.
Distribution
C2; S1–3; Kenya
Ecology
Altitude range 10–230 m.
Vernacular
Oohiye (Somali).
[FSOM]

Capparidaceae, J. Elffers, R. A. Graham & G. P. Dewolf. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1964

Morphology General Habit
Evergreen shrub up to 3 m. tall.
Morphology Stem
Young twigs roughly and often densely hairy.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves subsessile or petiolate, simple; blade broadly ovate-oblong to ovate-elliptic or sometimes suborbicular, 3.5–4 cm. long, 2–3 cm. wide, apically very obtuse, rounded or emarginate, basally rounded to cordate, with the margin becoming membranous and recurved, apparently dark green at first, but becoming pale green and leathery, roughly papillose on both surfaces; midrib pronounced beneath; petiole up to 2 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers solitary, axillary, ? sometimes polygamous; pedicels 2–3 cm. long, scabrous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Sepals lanceolate, ± 9 mm. long; receptacle ± 2 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals 0.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens many.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary
Ovary ellipsoid-spheroid.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruits ellipsoid-spheroid to almost spheroid, about 3.5 cm. long, 3 cm. across, yellow, roughly verrucose, minutely papillose.
Habitat
Deciduous bushland, sometimes on termite-mounds; 90–780 m.
Distribution
K1 K4 K7
[FTEA]

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: threatened. Confidence: low confidence
[AERP]

Uses

Use
Leaves used as an insect repellent.
[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

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • 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/

  • 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