Family:
Combretaceae R.Br.
Genus:
Combretum Loefl.

Combretum sericeum G.Don

This species is accepted, and its native range is W. Tropical Africa to W. South Sudan, Tanzania to NE. Namibia.

[FWTA]

Combretaceae, Hutchinson and Dalziel. Flora of West Tropical Africa 1:1. 1954

Morphology General Habit
Suffrutex, with tough woody underground stem, sending up erect annual shoots, to 2 ft. high, after grass fires
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals yellow, or pink, or red
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit pink, becoming pale brown.

[FWTA]

Combretaceae, Hutchinson and Dalziel. Flora of West Tropical Africa 1:1. 1954

Morphology General Habit
Suffrutex, to 18 in. high
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals yellow.

[FTEA]

Combretaceae, G. E. Wickens. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1973

Morphology General Habit
Shrublet usually ± 15–30 cm. high, but sometimes a shrub up to 3 m. (not in Flora area), with a thick woody rhizome, often flowering when leafless (not in Flora area); branchlets tomentose to glabrous.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves opposite, sub-opposite or alternate or occasionally 3-verticillate; lamina 1–4 cm. long, 1.4–5 cm. wide, extremely variable in size and shape (from subcircular to very narrowly elliptic) and in indumentum (glabrous to densely tomentose).
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence and flowers 4-merous, indistinguishable from those of C. paniculatum.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit (fig. 7/30, p. 51) as in C. paniculatum but more elliptic and rarely subcircular, sometimes up to 5.5 cm. long and 3.5 cm. wide, often with a distinct apical peg 2–6 mm. long.
Distribution
T4 T7

[FZ]

Combretaceae, A. W. Exell. Flora Zambesiaca 4. 1978

Morphology General Habit
Shrublet usually c. 15–30 cm. high but occasionally a shrub up to 3 m. (probably intermediates with C. paniculatum) with a thick woody rhizome, often leafless when flowering on annually produced shoots; bark grey-brown to grey-black; branchlets tomentose to glabrous.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves opposite, subopposite or alternate or occasionally 3-verticillate; lamina from 1 x 1·4 cm. to 10 x 5 cm. extremely variable in size and shape (from subcircular to very narrowly elliptic) and in indumentum (glabrous to densely tomentose).
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescences and flowers (red) indistinguishable from those of C. paniculatum.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruits as in C. paniculatum and C. micorphyllum but more elliptic and rarely subcircular, sometimes up to 5·5 x 3·5 cm. often with a distinct apical peg and stipe 2·6 mm. long.

Native to:

Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Cameroon, Caprivi Strip, Central African Repu, Chad, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Mali, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia, Zaïre, Zimbabwe

Combretum sericeum G.Don appears in other Kew resources:

Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status Has image?
Feb 1, 1993 Guinea K000232618 syntype No
Vogel [s.n.], Sierra Leone K000226270 Yes
Schivoner [107], Burkina Faso K000211914 No
Schweinfurth, G. [4], Sudan Combretum parvulum K000226443 Unknown type material Yes
Jan 1, 1961 Johnston, H.H. [s.n.], Angola Combretum platypetalum K000226603 Yes
Jan 1, 1961 Welwitsch [4356], Angola Combretum platypetalum K000226604 Unknown type material Yes
Jan 1, 1961 Dinter [7190] Combretum platypetalum K000226624 Yes
Brenan, J.P.M. [7670], Zambia Combretum platypetalum 25169.000 No

First published in Edinburgh Philos. J. 11: 847 (1824)

Accepted by

  • Akoègninou, A., van der Burg, W.J. & van der Maesen, L.J.G. (eds.) (2006). Flore Analytique du Bénin: 1-1034. Backhuys Publishers.
  • Darbyshire, I., Kordofani, M., Farag, I., Candiga, R. & Pickering, H. (eds.) (2015). The Plants of Sudan and South Sudan: 1-400. Kew publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Govaerts, R. (1999). World Checklist of Seed Plants 3(1, 2a & 2b): 1-1532. MIM, Deurne.
  • Hutchinson, J., Dalziel, J.M. & Keay, R.W.J. (1954-1958). Flora of West Tropical Africa, ed. 2, 1: 1-828.
  • Jongkind, C.C.H. (2014). Notes on African Combretum Loefl. Species (Combretaceae) Adansonia, sér. 3, 36: 315-327.
  • Lebrun, J.p., Toutain, B., Gaston, A. & Boudet, G. (1991). Catalogue des Plantes Vasculaires du Burkina Faso: 1-341. Institut d' Elevage et de Médecine Vétérinaire des Pays Tropicaux, Maisons Alfort.

Literature

Flora of West Tropical Africa

  • Hook. Fl. Nigrit. 341 (1849)
  • Keay in Kew Bull. 1950: 255, 256.
  • in Edin. Phil. Journ. 11: 347 (1824)

Kew Backbone Distributions

  • Jongkind, C.C.H. (2014). Notes on African Combretum Loefl. Species (Combretaceae) Adansonia, sér. 3, 36: 315-327.
  • Lebrun, J.p., Toutain, B., Gaston, A. & Boudet, G. (1991). Catalogue des Plantes Vasculaires du Burkina Faso: 1-341. Institut d' Elevage et de Médecine Vétérinaire des Pays Tropicaux, Maisons Alfort.

  • 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

  • Flora of West Tropical Africa

    Flora of West Tropical Africa
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    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 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