Psychotria L.

Rubiaceae, B. Verdcourt. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1976

Morphology General Habit

Mostly shrubs but less often trees, lianes or subshrubs, some even ± herbaceous

Morphology Leaves

Leaves opposite, petiolate, frequently drying reddish-brown in colour, either with domatia or with bacterial nodules the former mostly in the main nerve-axils but the latter either scattered throughout the lamina or variously restricted, sometimes only a very few at the base of the midrib beneath; less often neither domatia nor bacterial nodules are present; stipules either entire or variously fimbriated, usually deciduous; colleters present

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers mostly small, sessile or pedicellate, 4–5-merous, hermaphrodite, heterostylous in terminal or axillary (in some American species) capitate or paniculate inflorescences; bracts and bracteoles small or large, variously placed, sometimes one bract subtending 2 or 3 flowers or only 1 flower or absent; often there is an involucre of bracts (sometimes large) and in some groups (particularly those previously considered to be worth recognising as Cephaelis) united and surrounding the whole inflorescence

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx-limb usually a short tube with mostly minute or less often shortly linear or ovate lobes

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla-tube mostly shortly cylindric, hairy at the throat save in a few species; lobes always valvate, often thickened at the apex, sometimes with little projections which show as small horns in bud

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Stamens with long filaments in short-styled flowers and shorter filaments in long-styled flowers, mostly inserted about the middle of the tube

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil

Ovary 2(rarely –3–4)-locular, each locule containing a single erect ovule; style filiform, long or short with 2 (rarely 3–4) linear stigmas; disc small, surrounding the base of the style

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruit a drupe, very often red or in bracteate species often blue or black, with 1–2 (rarely 3 or 4) pyrenes

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds mostly 1/2-ellipsoid with plane ventral face and convex dorsal face; testa usually reddish brown; endosperm horny, entire, strongly ruminate or with a variously shaped median ventral fissure.

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

Morphology General Habit

Mostly shrubs or small trees

Morphology Leaves

Leaves petiolate, usually either with domatia in the main nerve-axils or with ± scattered bacterial nodules; stipules usually deciduous, entire or divided

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Flowers heterostylous, 4–5-merous, in paniculate or capitate inflorescences

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx-lobes mostly minute

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla-tube mostly shortly cylindrical, hairy at throat; lobes valvate in bud

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary

Ovary mostly 2-celled, with 1 erect ovule in each cell; style filiform with usually 2 stigma-lobes

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruit a drupe with 1–2 stones

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds often reddish.

Distribution

Pantropical genus with more than 1500 described species.