Combretaceae
Terminalia

Terminalia spinosa Engl.

First published in Pflanzenw. Ost-Afrikas, C: 294 (1895)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is SE. South Sudan to E. Tropical Africa. It is a tree and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

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

Morphology General Habit
Tree or shrub; bark grey, fissured; long shoots zigzag; lateral shoots zigzag, ending in a spur shoot and with lateral spur shoots as well, puberulous to tomentose; spines 1–3 at the base of spur shoots, up to 1.5(–2) cm long
Morphology Leaves
Leaves clustered on spur shoots; blade broadly obovate, up to 4 x 3 cm, rounded to emarginate at the apex, cuneate at the base, glabrous to pubescent; petiole up to 5 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers white, glabrous outside, appearing with the leaves, in up to 6 cm long pubescent spikes
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit 2–3 x 1–2 cm, oblong-elliptic, reddish, glabrous; stipe c. 3 mm long.
[FSOM]

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]

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

Morphology General Habit
Tree up to 20 m. high; bark grey, longitudinally fissured; branchlets greyish or reddish brown; long shoots zigzag with occasional spur shoots; lateral shoots irregularly arranged, diverging at an obtuse angle, ending in a spur shoot and with 0–2 lateral spur shoots; spines 2(–3), frequently at base of spur shoots, up to l.5(–2) cm. long.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves borne on the spur shoots; lamina broadly obovate, up to 4 cm. long and 3 cm. wide, apex rounded to subtruncate, emarginate, base cuneate, glabrous to sparsely pubescent; lateral nerves 4–5 pairs; petiole up to 5 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescences of spikes up to 6 cm. long, borne on the spur shoots; peduncle sparsely to densely pubescent.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers white or purplish, shortly pedicellate, glabrous outside.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit reddish purple, oblong-elliptic, 2–3 cm. long, 1–2 cm. wide, apex emarginate, glabrous; apical peg absent; stipe 3 mm. long.
Habitat
Acacia, Commiphora and coastal bushland, less often in Brachystegia woodland and wooded grassland; 0–1770 m.
Distribution
K1 K2 K3 K4 K7 T2 T3 T6 U1
[FTEA]

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