Meliaceae
Turraea

Turraea robusta Gürke

First published in Beibl. Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 47: 34 (1894)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Cameroon to Uganda and Zambia. It is a shrub or tree and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

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

Morphology General Habit
Shrub or small to medium-sized tree (1–)2–8(–16) m. tall, sometimes weak-stemmed and scrambling; bark light grey or brown, slightly fissured.
Morphology Leaves
Leaf-lamina elliptic, obovate or obovate-elliptic, usually less than 11 × 7 cm., lower surface usually shortly pubescent and with tufts of hairs in axils of secondary nerves, rarely glabrous except for a few scattered hairs on nerves and veins, apex usually acute, rarely rounded or apiculate, base cuneate; petiole up to 1.8 cm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence a terminal or axillary congested cyme or false raceme; peduncle (0.5–)0.7–4.5 cm. long, stout; bracts foliaceous, the longest 0.5–1.5 cm. long; pedicels 0.8–2 cm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx (0.3–)0.4–0.6 cm. long, with broadly deltate lobes, tomentellous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals oblanceolate-oblong, 1.2–1.8 cm. × 0.45 cm., creamy white tinged with green, becoming yellowish with age, tomentellous outside.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Staminal tube 0.8–1.4 cm. long, distally expanded, bearded at the throat with long hairs arising mostly from the filaments and a few from the appendages, otherwise glabrous inside; appendages 1–3- lobed, fused for about half of length, narrowly deltate at apex.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil
Ovary 10–12(–14)-locular, densely pilose or very rarely almost glabrous; style 1.5–2.2 cm. long, pilose at base; style-head broadly ovoid, its base exserted ± 0.2 cm. beyond the staminal tube.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule depressed-globose, ± 0.8 × 1.5 cm., shallowly sulcate, woody, pilose or very rarely glabrous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds dark red or black; aril red.
Habitat
In evergreen forest, especially at the edges of riparian and mid-altitude forest, and in secondary scrub-forest or as a forest remnant; sometimes in fire-protected Brachystegia woodland; 900–1750 m.
Distribution
K4 K5 K6 K7 T1 T2 T3 T5 T6 T7 T8 U2 U3 U4 sometimes planted for ornament
[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]

Meliaceae, F. White and B. T. Styles. Flora Zambesiaca 2:1. 1963

Morphology General Habit
Shrub or small to medium-sized tree (1) 2–8 (16) m. tall, sometimes weak-stemmed and scrambling; first-year branchlets densely puberulous, second-year almost glabrous, reddish-brown or purple-brown, often with conspicuous white or pale brown lenticels.
Morphology Leaves
Leaf-lamina up to 10 × 7 cm., mostly obovate or obovate-elliptic, lower surface shortly pubescent and with tufts of hairs in axils of secondary nerves, apex rounded to apiculate, base cuneate; petiole up to 1·8 cm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence a terminal or axillary congested cyme or false raceme; peduncle 3–4·5 cm. long, stout; bracts usually 3–4 to each flower, the longest up to 1·5 cm. long, foliaceous; pedicels 1–1·5 cm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx 5–8 mm. long, deeply lobed, tomentellous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals 12–14 × 4 mm., creamy white tinged with green, becoming yellowish with age, spathulate, pubescent outside.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Staminal tube 1·2–1·4 cm. long, distally expanded, bearded at the throat with long hairs arising mostly from the filaments and a few from the appendages, otherwise glabrous inside; appendages irregularly 1–3-lobed, alternate with or opposite the anthers, fused in lower half to form a frill continuing the staminal tube beyond insertion of filaments.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil
Ovary 10–12-locular, densely pilose; style 1·5–2·2 cm. long, pilose at base; style-head broadly ovoid-cylindric.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule 6 × 10 mm., depressed-globose, shallowly sulcate, woody, puberulous; aril covering half the seed.
[FZ]

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/144291481/149028797

Conservation
LC - least concern
[IUCN]

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 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 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