Rubiaceae
Psychotria

Psychotria punctata Vatke

First published in Oesterr. Bot. Z. 25: 230 (1875)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Gabon to Ethiopia and S. Tropical Africa, Mayotte. It is a shrub or tree and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

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

Morphology General Habit
Shrub or small tree
Morphology Leaves
Leaf-blades elliptic to ovate-elliptic, 3–13 x 1–6 cm, usually obtuse at the apex; bacterial nodules visible as numerous scattered dark dots; petioles up to 2 cm long; stipules ovate-triangular, 2–3 mm long, entire or ± bifid at the apex, ± persistent
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Flowers 5-merous, in rather dense pedunculate panicles; bracts obsolete
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx with a cup-like limb; lobes obsolete
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla white; tube 3.5–5.5 mm long; lobes 2.5–3.5 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Drupes red, subglobose, 5–6 x 6–9 mm; seeds with entire endosperm.
Distribution
S1–3; East Africa, Comoro Islands
Ecology
Altitude range 0–250 m.
Note
Three varieties were recognised by Petit in Bull. Jard. Bot. Brux. 36: 110–112 (1966) and by Verdcourt in Fl. Trop. E. Afr. (1976). The Somali material is glabrous with leaves up to about 7 x 4 cm, and belongs to var. punctata.
[FSOM]

Rubiaceae, B. Verdcourt. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1976

Morphology General Habit
Shrub or small tree (0.6–)1.2–3 m. tall, with pale glabrous stems.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves opposite or rarely in whorls of 4; blades elliptic to ovate-elliptic, (1–)3–13 (–15) cm. long, (0.5–) 1–6.3 cm. wide, obtuse, rounded or rarely ± acute or emarginate at the apex, cuneate at the base, glabrous or shortly puberulous on both surfaces, thin to coriaceous or subsucculent; nodules numerous, often thickly scattered in the blade; petiole glabrous, 0.2–2 cm. long; stipules ovate-triangular, 2.4 mm. long, scarcely to distinctly bifid at the apex, with very obvious rhaphides, glabrous outside but with lines of hairs at the base of the petioles and inside.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers sweetly scented, heterostylous, 5-merous, in rather condensed rounded branched panicles, (1–)3–8 cm. long; peduncle glabrous, 1–5 cm. long; secondary branches 0.3–1 cm. long; tufts of hairs are present in the angles of the branches; pedicels 1–3 mm. long, glabrous; bracts obsolete.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx-tube turbinate, 0.5–1 mm. long, glabrous; limb cupuliform, 0.6–1 mm. long, glabrous, truncate or the lobes represented only as faint undulations.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla white, glabrous outside; tube 3.5–5.5 mm. long; lobes oblong-elliptic, 2.5–3.5 mm. long, 1.2 mm. wide.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens with filaments 2–3 mm. long in short-styled flowers, 0.2–0.7 mm. long in long-styled flowers.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil
Style 1.5–3.5 mm. long in short-styled flowers and 4.5–5.5 mm. long in long-styled flowers; stigma-lobes 0.5–1 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Drupes red, with 2 pyrenes, subglobose, 5–6 mm. tall, 6–9 mm. wide, slightly 2-lobed, glabrous; pyrenes subglobose, 5 mm. tall, 5.5 mm. wide, 4.5 mm. thick, the walls packed with rhaphides.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds red, subglobose, 4.5 mm. long, 5 mm. wide, 4 mm. thick, with a ventral T-shaped median fissure ± 2 mm. deep; albumen not ruminate.
[FTEA]

Sources

  • 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

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2023. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2022 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 2023. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2022 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0