Araceae
Stylochiton

Stylochiton borumensis N.E.Br.

First published in D.Oliver & auct. suc. (eds.), Fl. Trop. Afr. 8: 191 (1901)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Kenya to Mozambique. It is a rhizomatous geophyte 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

Vegetative Multiplication Rhizomes
Rhizome 0.5–1.5 cm thick
Morphology Leaves
Leaves 2 to several, glabrous; petiole 5–40 cm long, lower part mottled with purple; basal sheath up to half total petiole-length; blade very variable in shape, up to 30 x 12 cm, sagittate to hastate at the base, often lobed with midlobe lanceolate to linear, 10–30 x 0.5–6 cm, acute, side-lobes usually shorter, 0.3–3 cm wide
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence usually present as leaves emerge, at or near ground level; peduncle 1–6 cm long Spadix hidden or slightly protruding from the mouth of the spathe; male part separated from 0.4–1 cm long female part by a 0.2–1.2 cm wide sterile zone
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Spathe
Spathe greenish, purplish or brownish, 3.5–15 x 0.5–1.5 cm, cylindric; apex erect, acuminate, with oblique opening
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Female flowers 5–10 in 1–2 whorls; ovules c. 20 Male flowers with 2–4 stamens, filaments ± thickened towards the apex; perianth with unlobed to dentate margin
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds several, c. 2.5–3.5 mm long, sulcate.
Distribution
C1; S1, 2 East Africa and southwards to Mozambique.
Ecology
Altitude range 40–450 m.
Note
As treated here this is a highly variable taxon in Somalia and more than one species may be involved.
[FSOM]

CATE Araceae, 17 Dec 2011. araceae.e-monocot.org

Distribution
Kenya, Tanzania, ? Uganda, Zambia, Mozambique.
General Description
Rhizome thick, fleshy, nodose, with thick fleshy simple roots. LEAVES appearing after the flowers, glabrous: petiole 4-7 in. long; blade sagittate or sagittate-hastate; front lobe 2 1/2-6 in. long, 3/4-13/4 in. broad, elongate-oblong acute; basal lobes 1-21/2 in. long, 4-9 lin. broad, elongate-deltoid or deltoid-lanceolate, obtuse. INFLORESCENCE: Peduncle 1 1/2-1 3/4 in. long, glabrous, surrounded by 2-3 membranous bracts 1-11/4 in. long. Spathe partly subterranean (?), glabrous; tube 1 1/4-1 3/4 in. long, cylindric, slightly inflated at the base; limb or mouth very oblique, 6-8 lin. long, acute. Spadix 1-1 1/3 in. long, reaching to about the mouth of the tube. Female flowers 10-12, irregularly bicyclic, free, those of the upper cycle mostly imperfect; perianth about 1/2 lin. deep, compressed or globose-polygonal, very much contracted at the mouth, somewhat oblique. Ovary free, shortly ovoid, laterally compressed; style 1/2 lin. long, subhorizontally spreading, stout, shortly exserted beyond the perianth; stigma large, discoid. Male spike about 1 lin. distant from the female flowers, dense; perianth cupular, truncate, 1/4-1/3 lin. deep; stamens 4; filaments 3/4 lin. long, clavate, very stout; anther-cells slightly divergent.
Diagnostic
Stigma discoid; filaments of the stamens clavate, longer than the anthers. This species is remarkable for the very thick clavate filaments of the stamens.
[CATE]

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]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

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

  • CATE Araceae

    • Haigh, A., Clark, B., Reynolds, L., Mayo, S.J., Croat, T.B., Lay, L., Boyce, P.C., Mora, M., Bogner, J., Sellaro, M., Wong, S.Y., Kostelac, C., Grayum, M.H., Keating, R.C., Ruckert, G., Naylor, M.F. and Hay, A., CATE Araceae, 17 Dec 2011.
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Somalia

    • Flora of Somalia
    • 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 2026. 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 2026. 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