Putranjivaceae
Drypetes

Drypetes usambarica (Pax) Hutch.

First published in D.Oliver & auct. suc. (eds.), Fl. Trop. Afr. 6(1): 686 (1912)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Kenya to Tanzania. It is a tree and grows primarily in the wet tropical biome.

Descriptions

Euphorbiaceae, A. R.-Smith. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1987

Morphology General Habit
A large forest tree up to 60 m. high with a straight trunk and horizontally-spreading branches.
Morphology General Bark
Bark smooth, greyish brown.
Morphology Twigs
Twigs angular at first, grey-green to greyish brown.
Morphology General Shoots
Young shoots and petioles minutely and sparsely pubescent at first, soon glabrescent, rarely densely or evenly and persistently pubescent.
Morphology General Buds
Buds minutely perulate.
Morphology Leaves
Petioles 2–5 mm. long, glabrous or pubescent; leaf-blade elliptic, elliptic-lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, 4–15 cm. long, 1.5–6.5 cm. wide, obtusely acuminate, asymmetrically cuneate-rounded, almost entire or only very shallowly toothed, rarely sharply serrate, coriaceous, lateral nerves 7–8 pairs, looped within the margin, tertiary nerves reticulate, all nerves more prominent beneath than above, quite glabrous above and beneath.
Morphology Leaves Stipules
Stipules lanceolate, 1.3–1.5 mm. long, sparingly pubescent, soon deciduous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers fasciculate on bosses on the trunk from ground-level up to the first branches, but not on the branches themselves. Male flowers:pedicels 1–1.5(–3) cm. long, slender, glabrous; sepals orbicular or suborbicular, adaxially concave, (3–)5(–9) mm. long, (3–)4.5(–9) mm. wide, glabrous, the outer minutely ciliolate, pale yellow or greenish cream; stamens 10–18, in a single peripheral whorl, 5 mm. long, anthers 2 mm. long; disc lobulate around the margin, the lobes partially enveloping the filaments, muricate-alveolate, glabrous. Female flowers:pedicels (1–)2–3 cm. long, extending to 4–5 cm. in fruit, fairly slender, glabrous; sepals reddish brown, otherwise ± as in the male; disc fleshy, undulate, glabrous; ovary 3-locular, subglobose, 2 mm. long, 3 mm. wide, usually glabrous (pubescent in var. trichogyna); styles 3; stigmas ± sessile, obdeltoid, bifid.
sex Male
Male flowers:pedicels 1–1.5(–3) cm. long, slender, glabrous; sepals orbicular or suborbicular, adaxially concave, (3–)5(–9) mm. long, (3–)4.5(–9) mm. wide, glabrous, the outer minutely ciliolate, pale yellow or greenish cream; stamens 10–18, in a single peripheral whorl, 5 mm. long, anthers 2 mm. long; disc lobulate around the margin, the lobes partially enveloping the filaments, muricate-alveolate, glabrous.
sex Female
Female flowers:pedicels (1–)2–3 cm. long, extending to 4–5 cm. in fruit, fairly slender, glabrous; sepals reddish brown, otherwise ± as in the male; disc fleshy, undulate, glabrous; ovary 3-locular, subglobose, 2 mm. long, 3 mm. wide, usually glabrous (pubescent in var. trichogyna); styles 3; stigmas ± sessile, obdeltoid, bifid.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit ovoid, (1.5–)2 cm. long, (1–)1.5–1.7 cm. wide, smooth, glabrous, greenish brown at first, orange when ripe.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds ovoid, 0.9–1.4 cm. long.
[FTEA]

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]

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/62449/3114768

Conservation
LC - least concern
[IUCN]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • 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/

  • IUCN Categories

    • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/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