Mallotus oppositifolius (Geiseler) Müll.Arg.

First published in Linnaea 34: 194 (1865)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Tropical Africa, Madagascar. It is a shrub or tree and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

Euphorbiaceae, Hutchinson and Dalziel. Flora of West Tropical Africa 1:2. 1958

Morphology General Habit
A dioecious shrub or tree, 6–40 ft. high
Ecology
Common in forest regrowth and drier types of forest
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers creamy-white.
[FWTA]

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/62455/3114823

Conservation
LC - least concern
[IUCN]

Euphorbiaceae, A. Radcliffe-Smith. Flora Zambesiaca 9:4. 1996

Morphology General Habit
An open shrub or small tree up to 10 m tall, often sarmentose, dioecious.
Morphology General Bark
Bark ± smooth to slightly roughened and flaky, whitish- or greenish-grey or brown.
Morphology General Shoots
Young shoots fulvous-stellate-pubescent.
Morphology Twigs
Older twigs glabrescent, often purplish-brown.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves opposite, one of each pair long-petiolate; petiole up to 8 cm long in the longer of the pair, up to 2 cm long in the shorter, slightly pulvinate, pubescent; leaf blade not lobed or 3-lobed, up to 17 × 13 cm, broadly ovate to ovate-oblong or ovate-lanceolate, the two leaves of each opposite pair somewhat unequal, obtusely or subacutely acuminate at the apex, shallowly cordate to truncate or rounded-cuneate at the base, subentire and shallowly glandular-denticulate to repand-dentate or sinuate on the margin, membranous to chartaceous, usually 3-nerved from the base, sometimes 5-nerved, with up to 4 discoid glands on the upper surface near the base, sparingly yellow-pellucid-gland-dotted above, evenly so beneath, sparingly stellate-pubescent to almost glabrous on both surfaces, sometimes with an admixture of simple hairs along the midrib and main nerves beneath, and in the domatia, or with multicellular simple hairs, dark green above, paler beneath; lateral nerves in 4–7 pairs.
Morphology Leaves Stipules
Stipules 1 mm long, subulate, soon deciduous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers fragrant, with an odour of Convallaria. Female flowers: pedicels shorter than in the male flowers at first, but elongating in fruit; buds ovoid-ellipsoid; calyx lobes 3–5(6), 2 mm long, united at the base or for half their length, ovate or lanceolate, acute, pubescent and gland-dotted at the base without, glabrous within, recurved, green; ovary 1 mm in diameter, shallowly 3(4)-lobed to subglobose, densely pubescent and glandular; styles 1.5 mm long, ± free, plumose. Male flowers: pedicels 3–7 mm long, jointed, pubescent; buds subglobose, apiculate; sepals 2 mm long, elliptic, subacute, sparingly pubescent without, glabrous and gland-dotted within, strongly reflexed, pale yellow-green; disk absent; stamens 2 mm long, filaments greenish-white, anthers 0.3 mm, whitish; pistillode absent.
sex Male
Male flowers: pedicels 3–7 mm long, jointed, pubescent; buds subglobose, apiculate; sepals 2 mm long, elliptic, subacute, sparingly pubescent without, glabrous and gland-dotted within, strongly reflexed, pale yellow-green; disk absent; stamens 2 mm long, filaments greenish-white, anthers 0.3 mm, whitish; pistillode absent. Male racemes up to 11 cm long; axis sparingly to evenly pubescent, sparingly gland-dotted; bracts 0.5 mm long, triangular, 3–5-flowered.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Female racemes resembling the males, but the bracts 1.5 mm long, lanceolate, 1–2-flowered. Male racemes up to 11 cm long; axis sparingly to evenly pubescent, sparingly gland-dotted; bracts 0.5 mm long, triangular, 3–5-flowered.
sex Female
Female flowers: pedicels shorter than in the male flowers at first, but elongating in fruit; buds ovoid-ellipsoid; calyx lobes 3–5(6), 2 mm long, united at the base or for half their length, ovate or lanceolate, acute, pubescent and gland-dotted at the base without, glabrous within, recurved, green; ovary 1 mm in diameter, shallowly 3(4)-lobed to subglobose, densely pubescent and glandular; styles 1.5 mm long, ± free, plumose. Female racemes resembling the males, but the bracts 1.5 mm long, lanceolate, 1–2-flowered.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruits 5–7 × 7–9 mm, deeply 3(4)-lobed, sparingly to evenly pubescent or puberulous and gland-dotted.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds 3.5–4 × 3 mm, subglobose, smooth, shiny, greyish-olive-brown.
[FZ]

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]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

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

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
  • Flora of West Tropical Africa

    • Flora of West Tropical 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