Burseraceae
Commiphora

Commiphora erosa Vollesen

First published in Kew Bull. 40: 60 (1985)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is SE. Ethiopia to Kenya. It is a shrub or tree and grows primarily in the desert or dry shrubland biome.

Descriptions

Burseraceae, J.B. Gillett. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1991

Morphology General Habit
Unarmed glabrous shrub or slender tree up to 5 m. tall; leafy shoots ± 2 mm. in diameter, slightly ridged longitudinally; bark smooth, grey; exudate colourless and odourless.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves always 3-foliolate, thin and delicate, rather translucent, drying yellowish green, usually born singly on long-shoots; petiole well developed, 1/3–4/5 as long as terminal leaflet which is entire, elliptic, ovate or obovate, broadly acuminate, attenuate below into a narrow petiolule-like base, the veins slender, not prominent, 15–70 mm. long, 10–55 mm. wide; lateral leaflets similar but broader at the base, 1/3–2/3 as long as the terminal.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers dark red, appearing with the leaves.
sex Male
Male inflorescences pedunculate 7–9-flowered cymes; peduncle 8–12(–28) mm.; pedicels 2–4 mm.; bracts ovate-triangular, 0.4–0.7 mm.; calyx ± 1.4 mm. including the 0.6 mm. broadly triangular lobes; petals ± 4 mm.; filaments 2.6 and 2.0 mm., anthers 0.6 and 0.4 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Female flowers similar, in shorter 1–2-flowered cymes; style 1.3–2 mm. long; longer than the 0.9 mm. ovary; stigma capitate. Male inflorescences pedunculate 7–9-flowered cymes; peduncle 8–12(–28) mm.; pedicels 2–4 mm.; bracts ovate-triangular, 0.4–0.7 mm.; calyx ± 1.4 mm. including the 0.6 mm. broadly triangular lobes; petals ± 4 mm.; filaments 2.6 and 2.0 mm., anthers 0.6 and 0.4 mm. long.
sex Female
Female flowers similar, in shorter 1–2-flowered cymes; style 1.3–2 mm. long; longer than the 0.9 mm. ovary; stigma capitate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit-stalk 4–6 mm. long; fruit asymmetrically oblong-ellipsoid, ± 10 × 8 × (3+4) mm., the pointed style-base deflected towards the sterile locule; pericarp 2-valved; pseudaril 4-armed, sutural arms almost as long as the stone; fertile facial arm 3/4 sterile locule arm 1/4 of its length; stone black, smooth, oblong, ± 8 × 5 × (2+4) mm.
Figures
Fig. 8/1–5, p. 52.
Habitat
Open Acacia, Commiphora woodland, usually on silty alluvium near perennial rivers; 90–400 m.; rainfall 230–300 mm.
Distribution
K1 K7
[FTEA]

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]

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

Morphology General Habit
Shrub or slender tree, up to 6 m tall, unarmed, glabrous throughout; bark smooth, dark grey to whitish; branchlets slender, slightly ridged longitudinally
Morphology Leaves
Leaves 3-foliolate, thin, drying yellowish green; petiole 15–60 mm long; leaflets elliptic, ovate or obovate, 1.5–7.5(–10.5) x 1–5.5(–8) cm, the middle the largest, abruptly attenuate at the base, acute to rounded at the apex, with entire margins
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers dark red, appearing with the leaves; male flowers in 7–9-flowered cymes; peduncles up to 4 cm long; pedicels 3–5 mm long; female flowers in 1–2-flowered cymes
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx c. 1.4 mm long, fairly deeply divided
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals c. 4 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruits ellipsoid, 8–10 x 5–8 mm, on a 4–20 mm long stalk; pericarp 2-valved; pseudaril 4-armed, with the sutural arms almost as long as the stone; stone oblong, c. 8 x 5 mm, smooth.
Distribution
C2; S1–3; SE Ethiopia, E Kenya
Ecology
Altitude range 30–190 m.
Vernacular
Geed subagleh, jawle, quraar madow (Somali).
Note
The original description of C. erosa was based on a mixture including also material of C. sphaerocarpa. The rugose surface of the stone that led to the epithet “erosa” is characteristic of C. sphaerocarpa and not of C. erosa.
[FSOM]

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

    • 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 2024. 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 2024. 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