Meliaceae
Turraea

Turraea parvifolia Deflers

First published in Bull. Soc. Bot. France 42: 301 (1895)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is E. Ethiopia to Kenya, Arabian Peninsula. It is a shrub or tree and grows primarily in the desert or dry shrubland biome.

Descriptions

Meliaceae, Styles & F. White (Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford). Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1991

Morphology General Habit
Rigidly branched shrub or small tree up to 4 m. tall; bark on older branchlets dark brown or blackish, finely striate.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves in fascicles on short lateral shoots of limited and slow growth, subsessile or with petiole up to 0.2 cm. long; lamina very variable, broadly obovate to linear-spathulate, 0.5 × 0.4–4.2 × 0.8 cm., glabrous, or with a few scattered hairs on the lower surface, apex obtuse or truncate, sometimes emarginate, base narrowly cuneate, decurrent almost to the base of the petiole.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers greenish cream fading yellow, solitary or 2–3(–4)-fasciculate among the leaves; pedicels up to 0.6 cm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx 0.15–0.25 cm. long, denticulate, densely puberulose over whole surface.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals greenish white, linear spathulate, 1.1–1.7 × 0.2–0.3 cm., sparsely puberulous outside.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Staminal tube slightly curved, 0.8–1.2 cm. long, slightly expanded at the apex, with few to many longish hairs in the upper part inside; appendages alternating with the anthers, in pairs, the members of a pair either completely separate or united for up to half of length, up to 0.35 cm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil
Ovary 5–6-locular, glabrous; style 1.2–1.8 cm. long, glabrous; style-head ovoid.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule depressed-globose, ± 0.6 × 0.8 cm., shallowly sulcate, thinly woody, glabrous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds black; aril red.
Figures
Figs. 2/6 and 1/7, p. 9.
Habitat
In Acacia-Commiphora bushland, especially around rock outcrops and on banks of seasonal watercourses; 260–1250 m.
Distribution
K1 K3 K4 K7
[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]

M. Thulin. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1–4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Morphology General Habit
Shrub or small tree, 1.5–4 m tall, subspiny, bark grey or black with white waxy bloom
Morphology Leaves
Leaves in dense spiralled clusters on short spur shoots, or alternate with long internodes on extension shoots Leaf-blade narrowly oblong, elliptic or oblanceolate, (0.7–)1.7–2.6 x 0.25–0.4 cm, glabrous, rounded at the apex, cuneate at the base; petiole 1–2 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescences of axillary single flowers on pedicels 3–7 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers cream or greenish white, ageing yellow
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals narrowly oblanceolate, 0.8–0.9 x 0.15 mm, puberulous on the outer surface
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Staminal appendages filiform, 1.5 to 2 times as long as anthers; anthers with spherical apical appendages Staminal tube narrowly cylindrical, abruptly flared at mouth, as long as petals
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style
Style exserted by 6–7 mm, style-head ovoid, 2.5 x 1.5 mm
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule not seen
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds red.
[FSOM]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

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

  • Flora of Somalia

    • Flora of Somalia
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • 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/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. 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 2026. 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