Cucurbitaceae
Momordica

Momordica macrosperma (Cogn.) Chiov.

First published in Fl. Somala 1: 182 (1929)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Central Somalia. It is a climbing shrub 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
Somalia/Ethiopia, “Merehan”, Robecchi-Bricchetti 229 (FT iso.)
Morphology General Habit
Scandent or decumbent softly woody deciduous spiny shrub
Morphology Leaves
Leaf-blade circular-obovate in outline, cordate, narrowly decurrent on to the petiole, entire, densely shortly pubescent, 2–4 x 2–4 cm; petiole 1–1.5 cm long
Morphology General Tendrils
Tendrils simple, solitary or paired, spiniform or the basal part spinescent and persistent
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Flowers unknown
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit subglobose, shortly rostrate, 4.5 x 5 cm, with narrow undulate longitudinal fleshy wings
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds 2–3, almost circular in outline, plano-convex, slightly rough, about 25 x 23–25 x 13 mm.
Distribution
?C2; ?Ethiopia
Ecology
Altitude c. 500 m.
Note
M. macrosperma is only known from the fruiting type collection. Maybe it is only an extreme form of M. spinosa.
[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: threatened. Confidence: low confidence
[AERP]

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

  • 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