Araliaceae
Astropanax

Astropanax volkensii (Harms) Lowry, G.M.Plunkett, Gostel & Frodin

First published in Candollea 72: 274 (2017)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Ethiopia to E. Tropical Africa. It is a tree and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

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]

Araliaceae, J. R. Tennant. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1968

Morphology General Habit
Scandent shrub or tall (sometimes spreading and much branched) tree up to 24–30 m. tall, or an epiphyte upon other trees.
Morphology Leaves
Petiole up to 13(–17) cm. long by 3.2(–3.8) mm. diameter, sometimes somewhat expanded at base, glabrous or sparsely hairy at tip; leaflets 4–6(–7), generally coriaceous, narrowly obovate or elliptic, occasionally oblanceolate or obovate, rarely narrowly or broadly elliptic, up to 15 cm. long by 7 cm. wide, acute to rounded or rarely slightly retuse at apex, with a generally acute, sometimes acute to rounded or broadly to narrowly cuneate base, with entire to very slightly repand, sometimes very slightly crisped margins, glabrous; petiolules up to 2.1(–2.8) cm. long by 1.9 mm. diameter.
Morphology Leaves Stipules
Stipules sheath-like, up to about 1–2(-l.4) cm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence (fig. 5/8) a ± extended or compressed raceme of bracteate racemes of small pedunculate ± globular capitula up to 7 mm. diameter when flowers in bud; primary branches up to 23 cm. long by 4.0(–5.5) mm. diameter, generally sparsely lenticellate; secondary branches (peduncles of capitula) (5–)10(–17) mm. long, sometimes lenticellate, borne in the axils of ovate to oblate bracts up to 4 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers sessile, up to 12–20 together.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruits ± urceolate, up to 5.5 mm. long by 4(–5) mm. diameter, ± 5-ribbed, minutely puberulous or glabrous; stylopodium up to 7 mm. long; styles 5, free and spreading for up to 0.5 mm. terminally.
Habitat
Upland rain-forest, upland dry evergreen forest; 1600–3230 m.
Distribution
K3 K4 K5 K6 T2 U3
[FTEA]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • 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/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. 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 2025. 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