Boraginaceae
Bourreria

Bourreria lyciacea Thulin

First published in Nordic J. Bot. 7: 415 (1987)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is S. Somalia to E. Kenya. It is a shrub and grows primarily in the desert or dry shrubland biome.

Descriptions

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

Type
S3, 14 km on the Jelib – Camsuma road, near Shek Ahmed Yare, Thulin & Warfa 4506 (UPS holo., K MOG iso.)
Morphology General Habit
Shrub, 0.4–2.5(–4.5) m tall, the upper branches often scandent and with a tendency to twine; youngest branchlets hirsute, soon glabrescent
Morphology Leaves
Leaves often clustered on short shoots; blade narrowly to broadly obovate or elliptic, 7–33 x 5–18 mm, cuneate or attenuate at the base, rounded to emarginate at the apex, ± scabrid above and along margins, glabrous to hirsute or scabrid beneath; petiole 1.5–5 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Flowers 1(–3) from short shoots or rarely 2–3 flowers on a common peduncle up to 3 mm long; pedicels 4–19(–23) mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx glabrous on the outside except for the ciliate lobes; tube 2–3 mm long; lobes 2–4 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla cream or greenish white, campanulate, 7–9 mm long; lobes up to 5 mm long, obtuse
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style
Style c. 4 mm long, with 1.5–3.2 mm long branches; stigmas capitate or almost disk-shaped
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Ripe fruits orange or yellow, subglobose, c. 7–9 mm in diam.; endocarp bony, prominently ridged.
Distribution
S1, 3; E Kenya
Ecology
Altitude range 4–390 m.
Vernacular
Himir, timiray-goosar (Somali).
[FSOM]

Boraginaceae, B. Verdcourt. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1991

Morphology General Habit
Much-branched shrub 0.4–2.5(–4.5) m. tall, the upper branches often ± scandent; older stems pale grey, striate, with very reduced lateral branchlets bearing flowers and leaves, with very few bristly hairs on the young shoots but otherwise glabrous.
Morphology Leaves
Leaf-blades elliptic to obovate-elliptic, 0.5–3.3 cm. long, 0.35–1.8 cm. wide, rounded to truncate or emarginate at the apex, cuneate or attenuate at the base, ciliate with curved bristly hairs and often sparsely scabrid above with short tubercle-based hairs, glabrous beneath or with very few hairs; petiole 1.5–5 mm. long, bristly or glabrous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers fragrant, solitary or sometimes 2(–3) from one cushion shoot or rarely in 2–3-flowered cymes, pendulous; pedicels 0.35–1.4 cm., lengthening to ± 2.5 cm. in fruit.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx cupular, the tube 1.5–2(–3) mm. long; lobes 5(–6), triangular, 1.5–3(–4) mm. long, 1.2–1.8 mm. wide, ciliate, tomentose inside.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla white or cream, turning pinkish buff or yellow or greenish white; tube 3 mm. long; lobes ovate, 4.5–5 mm. long, 3–3.8 mm. wide.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens Filaments
Filaments ± 1 mm. long; anthers 1–2 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary
Ovary 7 mm. diameter; style ± 4 mm. long, bifid for 1.5–3 mm.; stigmas capitate or ± pileus-shaped.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruits translucent orange, globose, 6–8 mm. diameter; endocarp bony, sharply and prominently ridged, breaking into 4 single-seeded pyrenes 4.8 × 3.2 × 2.8 mm.
Habitat
Commiphora-Grewia-Acacia mixed bushland, Terminalia orbicularis-Sesamothamnus associations; 60–780 m.
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: confident
[AERP]

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 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