Amaranthaceae
Pandiaka

Pandiaka richardsiae Suess.

First published in Mitt. Bot. Staatssamml. München 6: 192 (1953)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is N. Zambia. It is a perennial and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

Amaranthaceae, C. C. Townsend. Flora Zambesiaca 9:1. 1988

Morphology General Habit
Short perennial herb, 12–17 cm., considerably branched below with numerous stems arising from a tough rootstock, the stems simple or very sparingly branched, quadrangular upwards but terete below, more or less furnished with whitish, lanate hairs.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves thinly to moderately lanate, more so on the lower surface, linear, 12–40 × 1.5–3 mm., sessile, acute to subacute at the apex, dark green (at least in the dry state).
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence subglobose to shortly cylindrical, 2–4 × 1.5 cm.,axis densely white-lanate, shortly but distinctly pedunculate with a 1–2.5 cm. long peduncle which is increasingly lanate upwards.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts
Bracts ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 4.5–6 mm. long, subglabrous to more or less pilose over most of the surface, the green central portion almost as wide as each pale, membranous margin, midrib shortly excurrent in a rather blunt arista.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracteoles
Bracteoles ovate-lanceolate, 4–5 mm. long, almost entirely membranous, glabrous to thinly pilose, the midrib excurrent in a short (c. 1 mm.) sharp arista.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Tepal
Tepals lanceolate-oblong, all similar in form, densely furnished over the entire surface with long, appressed-matted whitish hairs, broadly white-margined, the green centre strongly 3-nerved, midrib not excurrent in an arista, the rather blunt apices very densely pilose; outer 2 tepals 5–7 mm. long, the inner 3 slightly shorter.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 3.5–4 mm. long, filaments pilose near the base; pseudo-staminodes—1–1.25 mm. long, flabellate, shortly pilose all round, the well-developed dorsal scale divided into very long, filiform fimbriae.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil
Ovary squatly turbinate, c. 1 mm. long, with a faint apical keel; style slender, 3.5–4 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Mature fruit unknown.
[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: threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

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

  • 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 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