Barleria grandipetala De Wild.

Darbyshire, I. (2008). A reassessment of Barleria sect. Cavirostrata (Acanthaceae) in tropical Africa, with a new species, B. richardsiae, described from the Tanzania–Zambia border region. Kew Bulletin 63: 601. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-008-9081-3

Type

Congo-Kinshasa, Katanga, Descamps s.n. (holotype BR!, photo. K!).

Distribution

W Tanzania (Flora of Tropical East Africa regions T 1 & 4); SE Congo-Kinshasa, Burundi.

Ecology

Barleria grandipetala is recorded from similar habitats to B. richardsiae, being found in miombo (Brachystegia, Julbernardia and/or Parinari) woodland and bushland and associated grassland at 800 – 1500 m alt. It appears tolerant of some habitat disturbance, having being recorded from degraded bushland (Bidgood & Vollesen 3042, K!).

Conservation

This species is widespread along the western fringes of Tanzania and is well-collected there despite limited botanical exploration in that region. It has been recorded as locally common at both Katonga (Gobbo & Zacharia 152) and Mkweni (Burtt 5553). Its abundance in Congo is unknown, though it is probably under-recorded there, and is also likely to be present in the under-collected miombos of NE Zambia. Extensive areas of suitable habitat remain intact within its range and it appears tolerant of minor disturbance. It is therefore not considered threatened and is assessed as of Least Concern (LC) under IUCN (2001) criteria.

Note

This rather poorly known species was mistakenly placed in section Somalia by Balkwill & Balkwill (1997). The error is likely to have stemmed from the fact that they had seen only a photograph of the holotype (Balkwill 1993). The terminal synflorescence of this species with large, somewhat imbricate bracts is indeed reminiscent of sect. Somalia, but the calyx, corolla and fruit morphology clearly place it close to Barleria descampsii.