Family:
Phyllanthaceae Martinov

Maesobotrya Benth.

This genus is accepted, and its native range is Tropical Africa.

[FTEA]

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

Morphology General Habit
Dioecious trees or shrubs with a simple indumentum
Morphology Leaves
Leaves alternate, often long-petiolate, the petioles with a proximal and distal pulvinus, stipulate, simple, entire or toothed, membranaceous or chartaceous, penninerved
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescences axillary or cauliflorous, solitary or fasciculate, subspicate or racemose; bracts usually 1-flowered
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Male flowers: pedicels commonly short; calyx (4–)5-lobed, imbricate; petals 0; stamens 5 (rarely 4 or 6), opposite the calyx-lobes, filaments free, anthers erect, dorsifixed, introrse, thecae parallel, longitudinally dehiscent; disc-glands 5, alternating with the filaments, fleshy, contiguous; pistillode ± cylindric, elobate Female flowers: pedicels and calyx as in the ♂ flowers; petals 0; disc hypogynous, cupular, usually entire; ovary (1–)2(–4)-locular, with 2 ovules per locule; styles very short; stigmas bifid, slightly recurved
sex Male
Male flowers: pedicels commonly short; calyx (4–)5-lobed, imbricate; petals 0; stamens 5 (rarely 4 or 6), opposite the calyx-lobes, filaments free, anthers erect, dorsifixed, introrse, thecae parallel, longitudinally dehiscent; disc-glands 5, alternating with the filaments, fleshy, contiguous; pistillode ± cylindric, elobate
sex Female
Female flowers: pedicels and calyx as in the ♂ flowers; petals 0; disc hypogynous, cupular, usually entire; ovary (1–)2(–4)-locular, with 2 ovules per locule; styles very short; stigmas bifid, slightly recurved
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit subglobose or ellipsoid, subdrupaceous, tardily loculicidally dehiscent; pericarp membranaceous, chartaceous or thinly coriaceous; endocarp 1-locular by suppression
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds solitary by abortion, ellipsoid, ecarunculate; testa thin; albumen scanty; cotyledons broad, flat, green.

[FZ]

Euphorbiaceae, A. Radcliffe-Smith. Flora Zambesiaca 9:4. 1996

Morphology General Habit
Dioecious trees or shrubs with a simple indumentum.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves alternate, often long-petiolate, stipulate, simple, entire or toothed, penninerved; petioles bipulvinate; stipules minute and deciduous (or foliaceous and persistent elsewhere).
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescences axillary (or cauliflorous elsewhere), solitary (or fasciculate elsewhere), racemose (or subspicate elsewhere); bracts usually 1-flowered; flowers shortly pedicellate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Male flowers: calyx (4)5-lobed, imbricate; petals absent; disk glands (4)5, alternating with the stamens, fleshy, contiguous; stamens (4)5(6), opposite the sepals; filaments free; anthers erect, dorsifixed, introrse, thecae parallel, longitudinally dehiscent; pistillode cylindric, not lobed. Female flowers: calyx as in the male; petals absent; disk hypogynous, cupular, entire; ovary (1)2(4)-locular, with 2 ovules per locule; styles short; stigmas bifid, recurved.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit subglobose or ellipsoid, subdrupaceous, tardily loculicidally dehiscent; pericarp thin; endocarp 1-locular by suppression.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds solitary by abortion, ellipsoid, ecarunculate; testa thin; albumen copious; cotyledons broad, flat, green.

Native to:

Benin, Cabinda, Cameroon, Central African Repu, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Gulf of Guinea Is., Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Zambia, Zaïre

Maesobotrya Benth. appears in other Kew resources:

Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status Has image?
Aug 1, 2010 Gosline, G. [443], Cameroon K000683096 No
Harris, D.J. [2442], Central African Republic 60052.000 No
Tuley, P. [656], Nigeria 70000.022 No

First published in Hooker's Icon. Pl. 13: t. 1296 (1879)

Accepted by

  • Govaerts, R., Frodin, D.G. & Radcliffe-Smith, A. (2000). World Checklist and Bibliography of Euphorbiaceae (and Pandaceae) 1-4: 1-1622. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Literature

Flora of West Tropical Africa

  • Pax & K. Hoffm. in Engl. Pflanzenr. Euph. 15: 17–26 (1922).
  • —F.T.A. 6, 1: 663

Flora Zambesiaca

  • J. Léonard in Bull. Jard. Bot. Belg. 63: 4 (1994).
  • in Hooker’s Icon. Pl. 13: t. 1296 (1879).

Flora of Tropical East Africa

  • G.P. 3(1): 284 (1880)
  • Hutch. in F.T.A. 6(1): 663 (1912)
  • Pax in E.P. IV. 147 (15): 17 (1922)
  • in Hook., Ic. Pl. 13, t. 1296 (1879)

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    Flora Zambesiaca
    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

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. 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