Sterculia mhosya Engl.

First published in H.G.A.Engler & O.Drude, Veg. Erde 9(III 2): 455 (1921)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Tanzania to N. Zambia. It is a shrub or tree and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/167671349/169378263

Conservation
LC - least concern
[IUCN]

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: low confidence
[AERP]

Sterculiaceae, H. Wild. Flora Zambesiaca 1:2. 1961

Morphology General Habit
Shrub or small tree up to c. 8 m. tall; bark dark grey and peeling.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves collected at the ends of the branches; lamina up to 15 cm. in diam., very broadly cordate-ovate to orbicular, more or less divided into 3–5 acuminate lobes, pubescent on both sides, c. 7-nerved at the base; petiole up to 12 cm. long, glandular-pubescent.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers dull red or purplish, appearing with the leaves, in terminal panicles up to 12 cm. long; branches of inflorescence sticky with dark purplish, glandular-viscid hairs; bracteoles c. 5 mm. long, linear, glandular-pubescent. Female flower: ovary ovoid, densely pubescent, with a ring of vestigial stamens at the base, on a glabrous gynophore c. 5 mm. long; style 3–4 mm. long, reflexed, pubescent. Male flower: androphore c. 7 mm. long, slender, glabrous; anthers numerous, in a capitate cluster.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx up to 1·2 cm. long, campanulate, 5–6-lobed rather more than 1/2-way, densely pubescent and somewhat glandular outside, pubescent towards the tips of the lobes inside.
sex Male
Male flower: androphore c. 7 mm. long, slender, glabrous; anthers numerous, in a capitate cluster.
sex Female
Female flower: ovary ovoid, densely pubescent, with a ring of vestigial stamens at the base, on a glabrous gynophore c. 5 mm. long; style 3–4 mm. long, reflexed, pubescent.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Follicles c. 5, 5–7 × 1–1·5 cm., subsessile, spreading, oblong-cylindric with a very short apiculus, brown-tomentellous outside.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds 10–20 per follicle, 1–1·5 × 0·7 cm., oblong-ellipsoid; testa black; aril white or orange.
[FZ]

Sterculiaceae, Martin Cheek & Laurence Dorr; Nesogordonia, Laurence Dorr, Lisa Barnett. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 2007

Type
Types: Tanzania, Kahama District: Usumbwa [Ussumbwa] and Dodoma/Mpwapwa District: Ugogo, Tabora, collector not indicated but probably Braun (presumably B†, holo.); Lushoto District: Usambara Nyembe-Bubungwa, Hammirstein 3079 (EA!, lecto., selected here)
Morphology General Habit
Tree, rarely a shrub, 0.9–10 m tall.
Morphology Bole
Bole smooth, bark sometimes slightly corrugated, greyish or greenish, papery, thinly flaking; ultimate branchlets usually glossy coppery red, 2.5–6 mm thick, mostly glabrous, but tomentose towards the tip
Morphology Leaves
Leaf-blade ± orbicular in outline, 3–5(–7)-lobed for half its length, rarely entire, (5–)7–12(–19) cm long, (4.5–)7–16(–22) cm wide, ovate-acuminate, the lobes subequal or the basal lobes partly to completely reduced, usually rounded, 2–7.5 cm long, 2–8 cm long, with a narrowly acuminate tip 1–2.5(–4) cm long, 0.2–0.6(–1) cm wide, base deeply cordate, sinus (0.8–)1–3(–4.5) cm deep, the edges rarely overlapping, margin sometimes repand to rounded serrate, texture papery to thinly leathery, glabrous to subscabrid above, puberulent to subscabrid, rarely glabrous, with scattered stellate hairs beneath.
Morphology Leaves Petiole
Petiole terete, (2–)3–8(–13.5) mm long, (0.5–)1(–2) mm wide, tomentellous, often with simple, purple glandular hairs amongst the more numerous stellate hairs, or glabrous; stipules caducous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescences borne from the stem apex (or short spurshoots near the stem apex) when leafless or nearly so, 1–6(–10) per stem, sticky, covered with large purple glandular hairs mixed with white stellate hairs, each inflorescence (3–)5–10(–14) cm long, 1.5–3.5 cm wide, bearing 3–9 branches, each 1(–3)-flowered; pedicels 3–7 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers with perianth yellow-green to dull red or crimson, widely campanulate, (7–)9–12(–14) mm long, (8–)11–16(–19) mm wide, divided into 5 triangular-acute lobes 5–9.5 mm long, 2–4 mm wide, outer surface with indumentum as the inflorescence
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruits with follicles cylindrical, 6–9 cm long, 1–2.4 cm wide, dehiscing flat, then slightly shorter, 2.2–3.5 cm wide, rostrum stout, (0.3–)1 cm long, stipe absent or very short, 0.1 cm long, pericarp rather thin and leathery, 1 mm thick, outer surface dull pink, drying brown, tomentose to tomentellous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds ellipsoid, 9–11 mm long, 5–6.5 mm long, grey-black, hilum subapical, round, 1 mm wide, at the margin and partly occluded by the apical aril 2–3.5 mm wide, 1.5–2 mm high, orange, drying orange or white
Figures
Fig 1/6, 12, p 6
Ecology
Dry bushland or woodland with Acacia, Commiphora and Combretum, often on rocky hillsides; 700–1300 m
Conservation
This species is here assessed as “Least Concern” in view of its large geographic range and because of its wide habitat range.
Note
Most of the abundant material of S. mhosya from Tanzania has until now borne the name S. sp. nr. mhosya, bestowed by Brenan (T.T.C.L.: 602 (1949)). Brenan pointed out that although Engler’s plate of S. mhosya matched the material available to him, Engler’s description (at odds with the plate) mentioned a stipe 1 cm long (not seen in such East African material). He concluded that two species were involved, but pointed out that if the description of it as stipitate was in error, as now seems likely (no such stipitate specimens have come to light), then ‘what I have called S. sp. nr. mhosya and S. mhosya are presumably the same’. I have no doubt that this is the case. It is quite concievable that Engler mistakenly described as a basal stipe the terminal rostrum of the fruitlet, which is usually 1 cm long in this species.  The protologue of S. mhosya Engl. does not cite specimens and in any case material at B is believed destroyed so a lectotype is necessary. Two specimens present themselves as candidates: Braun 5390 (collected 1913) and Hammirstein 3079 (1910), both being made for the Amani herbarium (specimens since transferred to EA and K) and so likely to have been available to Engler in drawing up his protologue. Moreover both have localities mentioned in the protologue. The second specimen is selected because it bears the unusual orthography of the local name used by Engler, “mhosya”. Brenan’s (T.T.C.L.: 604 (1949)) thirteenth Sterculia, ‘ S. sp.’ ( S. burtti) is based merely on an aberrant, poorly lobed specimen of S. mhosya. The fruits, and the presence of purple glandular hairs which so clearly characterize this species indicate its true identity.
Distribution
Flora districts: T1 T3 T4 T5 T7 Range: Zambia
[FTEA]

Uses

Use
Bark commonly used as amulet string, on the wrist in children against disease ( Gane 24), also used for making rope ( Ruffo 1483) and as a decoction against indigestion. Leaves used as toilet paper for children; boles for canoes but plants of enough size hard to obtain ( Azuma 563). Seeds edible, used as groundnuts ( Ruffo 1315, 1483 and others).
[FTEA]

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 Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/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 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