Commelinaceae
Aneilema

Aneilema obbiadense Chiov.

First published in Pl. Nov. Aethiop.: 10 (1928)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Central Somalia. It is a tuberous geophyte 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

Type
C1, “Tobungàb”, Puccioni & Stefanini 592 (FT holo.)
Morphology General Habit
Rhizomatous perennial; rhizome with narrow constrictions; roots spreading horizontally just below the surface, to 1.5 m long, 3–4 mm thick at base, then cord-like, supple, sand-covered
Morphology General Shoots
Shoots annual, disarticulating at the nodes and base, prostrate to erect, unbranched or sparsely branched, to 30(–80) cm long (including the inflorescence)
Morphology Leaves
Leaves spirally arranged, blade sessile, lanceolate to ovate 2–5(–6.5) x 1–2(–4) cm, apex acute to obtuse, base rounded to broadly cuneate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescences terminal, lax to moderately lax broadly ovoid to spheroidal thyrses, (4.5–)10–30 x (5.5–)12–27 cm, composed of 11–24 ascending to declinate cincinni to 17 cm long and 9-flowered; cincinnus peduncles (11–)15–27 mm long; bracteoles attached 8–23 mm apart, cup-shaped, perfoliate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers bisexual and male, open in the morning, (11–)12–18(–23) mm wide; pedicels 4–7(–11 in fruit) mm long, recurved c. 180–270° in fruit; sepals 3–6.5 mm long; paired petals 7–11 x 6–8.5 mm, lilac or white, apex hooded
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsules stipitate, 3-celled, + fusiform, 13–17 x c. 2–4 mm, falcate, rostrate; dorsal cell 1-seeded, ventral cells (0–)1-­2-seeded with seeds transversely elliptic, 3.5–5.4 x 1.6–2.2 mm, testa grey to grey-brown, finely pitted, not farinose.
Distribution
C1; S2 not known elsewhere.
Ecology
Altitude range 15–300 m.
Vernacular
Arjeg baar, baar (Somali)
Note
This species seems to be used only in the coastal plain where the otherwise preferred plants, Asparagus africanus (argeeg) and Euphorbia longispina (qabo) are lacking. The large infructescences appear to act as tumbleweeds.
[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: low confidence
[AERP]

Uses

Use
The roots are used to weave containers that hold water.
[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/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. 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 2025. 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