Sterculia rhynchocarpa K.Schum.

First published in Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 34: 323 (1904)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Ethiopia to NE. Tanzania. It is a shrub or 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: low confidence
[AERP]

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

Morphology General Habit
Spreading shrub, or tree up to 6 m tall; bark in larger plants peeling in papery flakes; branchlets pubescent
Morphology Leaves
Leaves pubescent; petiole 0.5–2 cm long; blade 1–4.5(–6) x 0.7–5(–8) cm, broadly ovate, shallowly 3-lobed with acute to rounded lobes or entire
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Flowers in 0.2–1.5(–2) cm long puberulous clusters or racemes
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx up to 10 mm long, yellowish to reddish with greenish lobes, pubescent outside
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Male flowers with androphore up to 7 mm long Female flowers with gynophore up to 5 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Follicles 3.5–8.5(–12) cm long, thick-walled, rough to almost spiny, tomentose with short greyish to yellowish hairs, with a horn-like beak 1–3 cm long at the apex, opening up partly only
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds (11–)12–15 x 8–10 mm, bluish grey.
Distribution
N1–3; C1, 2; S1–3; Ethiopia, Kenya, NE Tanzania
Ecology
Altitude range 10–800 m.
Vernacular
Carare, dhanrab, dharab, garaho, qararro (Somali).
[FSOM]

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

Type
Type: Tanzania, Pare District: Pare Mts, Gonja–Kisiwani [Kisuani], Engler 1523, 1563 (both B, syn., probably destroyed)
Morphology General Habit
Shrub or small tree, 0.6–9(–15) m tall, often spreading from or near the base.
Morphology Bole
Bole often swollen, bark smooth, purplish, grey or reddish brown, sometimes peeling; young extension shoots rare, pale brown, ± 2.5 mm wide, shortly tomentellous, older stems and spur shoots very pale grey, smooth and finely ridged, 3–6 mm wide; bud-scales triangular, 1–3 mm long, 0.5–1.5 mm wide, inside densely white tomentose.
Morphology Leaves
Leaf-blade orbicular to ovate in outline, shallowly 3-lobed or entire, (0.5–)1–5(–9) cm long, (0.5–)0.8–5(–8.5) cm wide, lateral lobes always less deep than the apical lobe, apex rounded to subacuminate, base truncate to cordate, edges never meeting, subtomentellous to glabrescent above, softly tomentose to tomentellous, rarely glabrescent beneath.
Morphology Leaves Petiole
Petiole terete, orange-brown, (0.4–)0.7–2(–3.7) cm long, subtomentellous with minute stellate hairs or glabrescent
Morphology Leaves Stipules
Stipules caducous
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescences borne on ± leafless stem apices, 1–2(–10) per shoot, 1.5–3.5(–4.8) cm long, 1–2 cm wide, indumentum subtomentellous, branches 3–6(–10); pedicels 1.5–6(–10) mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers green, with red flush and stripes inside, widely campanulate, (5–)6–11(–13) mm long, (8–)10–14 mm wide, divided into 5 triangular, reflexed lobes (4–)6–8 mm long, (3–)4–5 mm wide, outside with scattered minute stellate hairs, inside glabrous apart from the long-hairy lobes
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruits with follicles ± ellipsoid in lateral view, 4–11 cm long, widest at the suture side in end view, 2–3.5 cm wide, dehiscing by 90–180 degrees, then slightly shorter and 4–6 cm wide, rostrum stout, often very long, and curved at the tip, (1–)2–4.5 cm long, stipe very short or absent, pericarp woody, 1.5–3 mm thick, outer surface grey-green, subtomentellous, with sharply raised longitudinal ridges or distinctly prickly, prickles 1–3 mm high.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds with peg-like stalks 2–4 mm long, 1 mm wide, covered with urticating hairs, persistently attached to the placenta; seeds ellipsoid–oblong, grey-black, 12–14 mm long, 5–7 mm wide, the aril apical, rounded, orange yellow or red, 2–4 mm wide, 1–2 mm high; hilum at the aril margin, round, ± 1 mm wide
Figures
Fig 1/4, 10, p 6
Ecology
Dry bushland or woodland, usually with Acacia and Commiphora; 5–1000 m
Conservation
This species is here assessed as “Least Concern” in view of its large geographic range and still common habitat.
Note
Sterculia rhynchocarpa is very closely related to Sterculia africana. The leaves of the latter are generally larger than those of the former, but there is an area of overlap at which point it is very difficult to identify a specimen to species without there being fruits present, the flowers of the two species being ± identical. For this reason it is especially important to collect fruits when making collections. Since the pericarp is so woody, it is likely that if fruits are not present on the tree, they will be found on the ground throughout the year. S. rhynchocarpa is the only member of the genus in tropical Africa with warty or spiny fruits, though two more such species occur in S Africa. S. rhynchocarpa can also be distinguished from Sterculia africana by the grey-green, subtomentellous fruits (versus yellowish brown tomentose) generally with a much longer rostrum.
Distribution
Flora districts: K1 K4 K7 T3 Range: Ethiopia, Somalia
[FTEA]

Uses

Use
Bark used for binding fibre, Boy Joana 7430; seeds eaten, Joy Adamson 288.
[FTEA]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

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

    • '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