Olacaceae
Ximenia

Ximenia afra Sond.

First published in Linnaea 23: 21 (1850)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Ethiopia to S. Africa, Comoros, Madagascar. It is a shrub or tree and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

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

Morphology General Habit
Trees or shrubs up to 8 m tall, with axillary spines; young branches glabrous to densely tomentose
Morphology Leaves
Leaves: petiole 5–6 mm long, grooved; blade leathery, elliptic to lanceolate, 2.5–8 x 1.2–4 cm, obtuse or retuse at the apex; midrib prominent beneath,±impressed above
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers axillary, solitary or in clusters, whitish green sometimes tinged pink to red; pedicels 3–10(–14) mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx 4(–5)-lobed, pubescent, small
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals 4(–5), 6–9 x 1.5–2 mm, densely pilose within
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 8; filaments 2.5–4.5 mm long; anthers±as long as filaments, up to 0.8 mm wide
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style
Style up to 1 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit an ovoid drupe, up to 3.5 x 2.5 cm, orange to red; mesocarp fleshy
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seed woody, up to 2.5 x 1 cm.
[FSOM]

Olacaceae, G. Ll. Lucas. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1968

Morphology General Habit
Trees or shrubs up to 8 m. high, armed with axillary spines; young stems glabrous to densely tomentose.
Morphology Leaves
Petiole 5–6 mm. long, canaliculate; leaf-blade coriaceous, elliptic to lanceolate, 2.5–8 cm. long, 1.2–4 cm. wide, obtuse or retuse at apex; midrib prominent beneath, ± impressed above; lateral veins 4–5 pairs, inconspicuous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers axillary, solitary or fasciculate, whitish-green sometimes tinged pink to red; pedicels 3–10(–14) mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx 4(–5)-lobed, pubescent, small.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals 4(–5), 6–9 mm. long, 1.5–2 mm. wide, recurved when mature, densely pilose within.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 8; filaments 2.5–4.5 mm. long; anthers approximately the same length, up to 0.8 mm. wide.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil
Ovary superior, 3–4-partite at the base; style up to 1 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit an ovoid drupe, up to 3.5 cm. long and 2.5 cm. wide, orange to red; mesocarp pulpy.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seed woody, 2.5 cm. long and up to 1 cm. wide.
[FTEA]

Olacaceae, J. G. Garcia. Flora Zambesiaca 2:1. 1963

Morphology General Habit
Shrub or small tree up to 6 m. tall, armed with spines; young branches and leaves densely rusty-tomentose to glabrous.
Morphology Leaves
Leaf-lamina 2·5–8 × 1·2–4 cm., elliptic or oblong-elliptic, obtuse to retuse at the apex, coriaceous; midrib impressed above, prominent below; lateral nerves 4–5 pairs, very slightly or not at all prominent on both surfaces; petiole 5–6 mm. long, canaliculate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers solitary or fasciculate in the axils of the leaves; pedicels 3–7 mm. long; buds oblong-obovoid.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx 4 (5) -lobed, ± pubescent.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals 4 (5), 6–12 × 1·5–2·5 mm., externally pubescent or almost glabrous, densely bearded within, shortly cucullate at the apex, recurved.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 8; filaments 2·5–4 mm. long; anthers 2·5–4·5 × 0·6–0·8 mm.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil
Ovary c. 3 × 1·5 mm.; style up to 1 mm. long, columnar, caducous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit c. 2·5 × 1·8 cm., drupaceous, bright scarlet when ripe, ellipsoid, edible.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seed c. 1·5 × 1 cm.
[FZ]

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/165445233/165445341

Conservation
LC - least concern
[IUCN]

Common Names

English
Large sourplum, Monkey plum

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 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/

  • 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 2024. 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 2024. 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

  • Plants and People Africa

    • Common Names from Plants and People Africa http://www.plantsandpeopleafrica.com/
    • © Plants and People Africa http://www.plantsandpeopleafrica.com http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/