Lythraceae
Woodfordia

Woodfordia fruticosa (L.) Kurz

First published in J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Pt. 2, Nat. Hist. 40: 56 (1871)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is E. Tanzania, Comoros, Madagascar, Tropical & Subtropical Asia. It is a shrub or tree and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

Lythraceae, B. Verdcourt. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1984

Morphology General Habit
Shrub or small tree 1.3–5 m. tall, with spreading pubescent or glabrous stems.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves subsessile or shortly petiolate; blades ovate to ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate, 2–14 cm. long, 1–4 cm. wide, attenuate at the apex, rounded to subcordate at the base, finely but densely velvety tomentose beneath or in some areas (see note) glabrous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescences crimson, (1–)2–16-flowered, up to ± 3 cm. long; pedicels 0.4–1 cm. long; bracteoles minute, Calyx-tube 0.9–1.5 cm. long, 2–5 mm. wide, glabrous or puberulous; lobes oblong-ovate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals red, lanceolate-acuminate, 3–4.5 mm. long, 0.5–0.8 mm. wide, equalling or longer than calyx-lobes.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 0.3–1.7 cm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil
Ovary 4–6 mm. long; style 0.8–1.5 cm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule 0.6–1 cm. long, 2.5–4.5 mm. wide.
Figures
Fig. 1.
Habitat
Sideroxylon, Mimusops, Terminalia fatraea, Bridelia, etc., open coastal bushland on coral rock; ± sea-level
Distribution
also cultivated in Kenya, Trinidad and Mauritius T6
[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/39058/10160263

Conservation
LC - least concern
[IUCN]

Common Names

unknown
charcoal, dhaitee, dhauri gum, dhaval phul (Rajasthani), dhawree, lambohenjana, temerisk

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

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

  • Art and Illustrations in Digifolia

    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew

  • EBC Common Names

    • Common Names from Kew's Economic Botany Collection https://www.kew.org/science/collections-and-resources/collections/economic-botany-collection

  • 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

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images