Strychnos xantha Leeuwenb.

Loganiaceae, A. J. M. Leeuwenberg. Flora Zambesiaca 7:1. 1983

Morphology General Habit

Climbing shrub or liana, at least 6–10 m. high, climbing over shrubs or in trees, not climbing shrub or small tree with short thick trunk and often liana–like branches, 2–12 m. high.

Morphology Trunk

Trunk short (in trees), 50 cm. in diam.

Morphology General Bark

Bark slightly rough, grey or black, in section faded yellow; sapwood white; wood faded yellow.

Morphology Branches

Branches ochraceous or black–brown, often spotted, not lenticellate, terete, not or hardly sulcate when dry; branchlets glabrous, terete, ochraceous and often sulcate when dry.

Morphology General Tendrils

Tendrils — if present — paired.

Morphology Leaves

Leaves with a glabrous, 5–8 mm. long petiole; lamina hardly shining and pale green, not or slightly paler beneath, usually yellow when dry, often stiffly coriaceous when fresh, elliptic, narrowly elliptic, ovate or narrowly ovate, (1·5)2–3 x as long as wide, 4–9(11·5) x 1·5–4·5(7) cm., acuminate at the apex, cuneate or rounded at the base, glabrous on both sides; one or two pairs of secondary veins from or from above the base curved along the margin and often a faint submarginal pair; tertiary venation reticulate, conspicuous, in dry leaves prominent on both sides, in living beneath only.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescence axillary and occasionally also terminal, rather congested, few–flowered, much shorter than the leaves, 1·5 x 1–2·5 x 1·5 cm. Peduncle, branched, and pedicels short, thin, glabrous.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla in the mature bud 3·5–5 x as long as the calyx, 4·5–6·5 mm. long and rounded at the apex, white, outside glabrous or minutely papillose–pubescent, inside densely pilose on the lobes and in the throat, less pilose in the tube, glabrous at the base; tube cylindrical or nearly so, 1·7–3 x as long as the calyx, 1–1·3 x as long as the lobes, 2·4–3·5 mm. long, at the throat 1·8–2·2 mm. wide; lobes oblong, 1·7–2·5 x as long as wide, 2·4–3·3 x 1·2–1·5 mm., acute, recurved.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Stamens exserted; filaments 0·8–1·5 x as long as the anthers, elongate at anthesis, inserted at the mouth of the corolla tube; anthers oblong, 0·7–1 x 0·4–0·6 mm., glabrous.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil

Pistil glabrous, 4–5·5 mm. long; ovary ovoid or nearly so, 1–1·5 x 0·8–1 mm., 2–celled; style slender, 2·8–4·2 mm. long; stigma obscurely bilobed or less often capitate.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary Ovules

In each cell 6–8 ovules.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruit orange or yellow, nearly mature pale green, with paler dots, small, soft, ellipsoid, 15 x 10–20 x 18 mm., often mucronate, often obliquely pedicellate, with smooth skin, 1–2–seeded. Wall thin, when dry 0·3–0·5 mm. thick. Pulp orange or yellow.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seed ochraceous, often obliquely ellipsoid, flattened, 10 x 8 x 3–14 x 11 x 4 mm., at one side with a deep pit at the other with a bulge surrounded by a shallow groove; seemingly papillose; false papillae simulated by short curved hairs.