Rubiaceae
Vangueria

Vangueria esculenta S.Moore

First published in J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 40: 91 (1911)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is S. Tropical Africa. It is a shrub or tree and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

Rubiaceae, D. Bridson. Flora Zambesiaca 5:2. 1998

Morphology General Habit
Small tree or shrub 1.8–6(12) m tall, with smooth bark; branchlets slender, at first covered with spreading yellowish-brown hairs, later ± glabrous, dull purplish, with finely ridged bark which flakes off in small pieces.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves membranous to thinly papery, 2–11 × 0.6–4.8 cm, elliptic or ovate-elliptic to elliptic-oblong, acuminate at the apex, rounded at the base, almost glabrous to densely pubescent above and on the nervation beneath, never velvety and the surface never obscured; lateral nerves in 6(7) main pairs; tertiary nerves moderately finely reticulate; petiole 5–9(15) mm long, spreading pubescent; stipules joined at base to form a cylindrical sheath 2 mm long with decurrent pubescent subulate appendage 5–7 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescences pubescent, sweet-scented, often at leafless nodes, 1–2 cm long, usually of 7-flowered short dichasial cymes; peduncle 0.9–1.5 cm long with involucre of small brownish bracts at apex and another about one third the length below it or midway, presumably a true peduncle with a secondary axis but lateral branchlets suppressed; true secondary branches c. 2 mm long; pedicels 0–2 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx pubescent; tube c. 1 mm long, campanulate; lobes c. 1.5 mm long, triangular.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla rounded or ± acute in bud, distinctly contracted around the limb/tube junction in the dry state; white, yellow or pale green, glabrous or with a very few scattered hairs or with limb part pubescent outside, tube 4–5 mm long; lobes 3–3.5 × 1.5–1.8 mm, oblong-triangular, acute but not apiculate, strongly reflexed.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style
Style exserted 1.5–2 mm.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Pollen presenter
Pollen presenter 0.7 mm long, ± cylindrical.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruits deep yellow, 18–22 mm wide; pyrenes 3–5, each 18 × 8 mm with a conspicuous almost central notch.
[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]

Common Names

English
Forest Wild Medlar

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 Living Collection Database

    • Common Names from Plants and People Africa http://www.plantsandpeopleafrica.com/

  • 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