Eureiandra cogniauxii (Gilg) C.Jeffrey

First published in Kew Bull. 15: 352 (1962)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is SE. Ethiopia to N. Kenya. It is a climbing tuberous geophyte and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

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]

Cucurbitaceae, C. Jeffrey. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1967

Morphology General Habit
Climber; stems perennial, arising from a massive woody rootstock with a thick furrowed bark; young stems herbaceous, finely and densely short-hairy; older stems becoming woody and thickened with a thin light greyish-brown bark.
Morphology Leaves
Leaf-blade ovate- or reniform-cordate in outline, with a dense creamy or light brown tomentum beneath when young, becoming less dense when the leaves expand, minutely scabrid-punctate above, 70–80 mm. long, 86–110 mm. broad, palmately 5-lobed; lobes elliptic in outline, 3-lobulate, apiculate at the apices and at the apices of the lobules; petiole 42–47 mm. long, finely hairy like the young stems.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers appearing when the leaves are very small and unexpanded. Female flowers on 15–22 mm. long stalks; ovary cylindrical or ellipsoid-cylindrical, shortly and densely pubescent; receptacle-tube campanulate-urceolate, 9–10 mm. long; lobes ovate-lanceolate, obtuse or acute, 4–6 mm. long, 1.5–2 mm. broad, pubescent; staminodes 3, resembling stamens, or reduced to short subulae; style long. Male flowers solitary on 12–30 mm. long pedicels; receptacle-tube turbinate-cylindrieal, expanded above, finely and densely pubescent outside, hairy inside about the insertion of the filaments, 13–26 mm. long; lobes ovate, finely and densely pubescent, sometimes slightly toothed on the margins below the apex, 4.5–9 mm. long; petals yellow, free, 12–20 mm. long, 9–14 mm. broad; stamens 5 or 3; filaments inserted about the middle of the receptacle-tube, hairy at the base; thecae convoluted.
sex Male
Male flowers solitary on 12–30 mm. long pedicels; receptacle-tube turbinate-cylindrieal, expanded above, finely and densely pubescent outside, hairy inside about the insertion of the filaments, 13–26 mm. long; lobes ovate, finely and densely pubescent, sometimes slightly toothed on the margins below the apex, 4.5–9 mm. long; petals yellow, free, 12–20 mm. long, 9–14 mm. broad; stamens 5 or 3; filaments inserted about the middle of the receptacle-tube, hairy at the base; thecae convoluted.
sex Female
Female flowers on 15–22 mm. long stalks; ovary cylindrical or ellipsoid-cylindrical, shortly and densely pubescent; receptacle-tube campanulate-urceolate, 9–10 mm. long; lobes ovate-lanceolate, obtuse or acute, 4–6 mm. long, 1.5–2 mm. broad, pubescent; staminodes 3, resembling stamens, or reduced to short subulae; style long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit on a stout 20–30 mm. long stalk, ovoid, somewhat beaked, dull orange with 10 darker longitudinal lines, crowned with the persistent receptacle, 66–90 mm. long, 28–45 mm. across, glabrous or shortly and finely pubescent.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds asymmetrically ovate in outline, 11–14 × 8–9 × 4–4.5 mm.; testa fibrillose, with a golden-brown metallic lustre.
Habitat
Acacia, Commiphora bushland; 750–1060 m.
Distribution
K1
[FTEA]

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

Morphology General Habit
Scandent softly woody shrub to 12 m; rootstock massive, tuberous, woody; stems at first herbaceous, shortly crisped-pubescent, becoming softly woody with pale ridged corky bark
Morphology Leaves
Leaves ovate or reniform in outline, cordate, minutely scabrid above, ± densely tomentose beneath, 7–12 x 8.5–12 cm, usually palmately ± deeply 5-lobed, lobes elliptic, lobulate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Flowers appearing ± before the leaves
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Female flowers solitary Male flowers solitary
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Pedicel
Pedicels 15–22 mm long Pedicel 12–30 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary
Ovary ellipsoid, c. 16 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Hypanthium
Hypanthium 6–10 mm long Hypanthium turbinate-cylindrical, finely pubescent, 13–26 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Sepals narrowly oblong-lanceolate, acute, 4–6 mm long Sepals ovate, 4.5–9 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals as in male flowers Petals yellow, 12–20 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit yellow-green becoming dull orange with 10 darker longitudinal bands, 5–10 x 2.8–5 cm, glabrescent
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds asymmetrically ovate in outline, 11–14 x 7–9 x 3–4.5 mm, fibrillose.
Distribution
C2; S1; SE Ethiopia, N Kenya
Ecology
Altitude range 200–500 m.
Vernacular
Harega (Somali)
[FSOM]

Uses

Use
Fruits sometimes eaten.
[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