Malvaceae

Urena Dill. ex L.

First published in Sp. Pl.: 692 (1753)
This genus is accepted
The native range of this genus is Tropics & Subtropics.

Descriptions

Malvaceae, A. W. Exell. Flora Zambesiaca 1:2. 1961

Morphology General Habit
Suffrutices, usually stellate-pubescent.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves petiolate, subentire, 3–5-palmatilobed or sinuous along the margin, palmately 3–7-nerved, with a conspicuous gland near the base of the central nerve; stipules small, linear to setaceous, usually caducous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers axillary, solitary or fasciculate or crowded towards the end of the branches.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Epicalyx
Epicalyx campanulate, deeply 5-lobed; bracts lanceolate, acute, striate towards the base.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx cupulate, deeply 5-fid; lobes ovate or ovate-lanceolate, 1-nerved and keeled.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals rose-pink or mauve, stellate-pilose outside.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Staminal tube equalling the petals, the lower portion dilated and united with the petals at the base; anthers subsessile.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil
Ovary depressed-globose, hirtellous or glabrous, of 5 free 1-ovulate carpels; styles 10, reflexed; stigmas discoid, fimbriate at the apex.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit subglobose, of 5 mericarps ultimately separating from the torus; mericarps trigonous, obovoid, coriaceous, indehiscent, the convex back stellately hirsute and with glochidiate spines, the flat lateral surfaces striate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds obovoid-trigonous or reniform, glabrous.
[FZ]

Malvaceae, Bernard Verdcourt & Geoffrey Mwachala. Pavonia, B Verdcourt; Kosteletzkya, OJ Blanchard Jr.; Gossypium, P Fryxell & B Verdcourt. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 2009

Morphology General Habit
Perennial or annual herbs or subshrubs with stellate indumentum
Morphology Leaves
Leaves petiolate, subentire to deeply palmately 3–7-lobed, toothed, with often both coarse and finer teeth, palmately 3–9-veined, with a conspicuous gland near base of midrib consisting of a slit ± 1.5 mm long with thickened edges, sometimes also present on veins immediately on either side; stipules linear or setaceous, eventually deciduous
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers solitary, fasciculate or merging into terminal pseudoracemes at the ends of the branches
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Epicalyx
Epicalyx 5-lobed, the lobes ± rigid, narrowly triangular or lanceolate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx 5-lobed, the lobes ovate to ovate-lanceolate, keeled
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla pink or mauve, mostly with dark centre or rarely white, the petals obovate, densely stellate-pilose outside
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Staminal tube equalling the petals
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary
Ovary of 5 free 1-ovulate carpels.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style
Styles 10, reflexed, with discoid stigmas
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruits depressed globose, of 5 indehiscent trigonous mericarps, stellate-pubescent and with dense glochidiate spines dorsally (except in endemic Australian species), striate on the flat contiguous lateral surfaces.
Note
Formerly usually treated as a single species but apart from the pantropical species U. lobata with numerous varieties there are certainly three other distinct species in Australia (Craven & Fryxell in Austral. Syst. Bot. 2: 455–460 (1989)). One of these and several Indian species were transferred to Pavonia by Hochreutiner in 1901 but the latter may also be better considered as Urena again. Urena and Pavonia are extremely close and the former is the earlier name. It appears there are 4–6 species of true Urena.
[FTEA]

Sources

  • 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

  • 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 Vascular Plants 2023. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2022 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 2023. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2022 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0