Family:
Araliaceae Juss.
Genus:
Cussonia Thunb.

Cussonia zimmermannii Harms

This species is accepted, and its native range is Kenya to NE. Mozambique.

[FTEA]

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

Morphology General Habit
A tree to 45 m. tall with greenish-grey fissured bark.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves digitately compound; petiole up to 53.5 cm. long and 5 mm. diameter, but generally considerably smaller, glabrous apart from some crisped hairs in stipular region and at junction with leaflets; leaflets 5–7(–9), sessile, chartaceous to coriaceous, lanceolate to oblanceolate, narrowly ovate and narrowly obovate, up to 25 cm. long by 8 cm. wide, but generally considerably less, caudate to acute (very rarely emarginate), with a narrowly cuneate to much attenuated base (occasionally base only a winged petiolule of up to 12 mm. long), with crenate to subentire margins, glabrous above, glabrous to slightly puberulous beneath.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Flowering spikes up to about 12 together, up to 34 cm. long; floral bracts lanceolate to broadly ovate, up to 3.5 mm. long by up to 2 mm. wide, frequently much smaller, puberulous, sometimes glabrescent quite early on; base of spike-rhachis often clothed with larger, thicker overlapping sterile bracts.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruits up to 6 mm. long, usually obconical to hemispherical, glabrous or puberulous.
Figures
Fig. 3/5, p. 10.
Habitat
? Lowland rain-forest, lowland dry evergreen forest, woodland; 0–400 m.
Distribution
K7 T3 T6 T8 Z

[FZ]

Araliaceae, J. F. M. Cannon. Flora Zambesiaca 4. 1978

Morphology General Habit
Tree up to 20(45) m. high.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves digitately compound; petioles glabrous, commonly up to 20 cm. long but lengths of 53 cm. have been recorded.
Morphology Leaves Leaflets
Leaflets 5–7(9), up to 10(25) × 4(8) cm., sessile, chartaceous, glabrous or with a few scattered hairs, oblanceolate (to lanceolate) or ovate (to obovate); apex long-acuminate; base cuneate to narrowly cuneate (sometimes almost creating the impression of a distinct petiole); margins crenate-serrate to subentire.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence a group of up to 12 spike-like racemes, up to 35 cm. long in fruit. Base of racemes densely clothed with overlapping bracts; floral bracts lanceolate (to ovate).
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers distinctly pedicellate, pedicels 3–5 mm.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Stylopodium
Stylopodium well developed, broadly conical; styles short, with shortly recurved stigmatic surfaces.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit hemispherical, up to 6 mm. long, glabrous to very slightly puberulous.

[FSOM]

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

Morphology General Habit
Tree to 20–30 m tall
Morphology Leaves
Adult leaves digitately compound, with petiole up to c. 30(–50) cm long; leaflets 5–7, sessile or subsessile, lanceolate to narrowly ovate, glabrous or glabrescent, 5.5–10(–20) x 2–4(–8) cm, acuminate at the apex, cuneate at the base, with ± crenate margins
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Flowers on short pedicels, in up to 25–30 cm long racemes, racemes often 10–12 together; bracts subtending flowers lanceolate-ovate, up to c. 2(–3) mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit subglobose, up to 6 mm long.
Distribution
S1 eastern Africa from Kenya southwards to Mozambique.
Ecology
Altitude range c. 400–560 m.
Note
The only Somali collection seen is from “Bur Heybe” (03° 00’N, 44° 19’E).

Native to:

Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania

Cussonia zimmermannii Harms appears in other Kew resources:

Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status Has image?
Gomes e Sousa [4577], Mozambique 6986.000 No

First published in Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 53: 361 (1915)

Accepted by

  • Calane da Silva, M., Izdine, S. & Amuse, A.B. (2004). A Preliminary Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Mozambique: 1-184. SABONET, Pretoria.
  • Frodin, D.G. & Govaerts, R. (2003 publ. 2004). World Checklist and Bibliography of Araliaceae: 1-444. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Govaerts, R. (1999). World Checklist of Seed Plants 3(1, 2a & 2b): 1-1532. MIM, Deurne.

Literature

Flora of Somalia

  • Flora Somalia, Vol 2, (1999) Author: by S. Fici [updated by M. Thulin 2008]

Flora of Tropical East Africa

  • Dale & Greenway, Kenya Trees and Shrubs p. 54 (1961).
  • Harms in A. Engler, Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie 53: 361 (1915).
  • J.P.M. Brenan, Check-lists of the Forest Trees and Shrubs of the British Empire no. 5, part II, Tanganyika Territory p. 59 (1949).

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    Flora Zambesiaca
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • 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

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0