Lamiaceae
Ocimum

Ocimum circinatum A.J.Paton

First published in Kew Bull. 47: 429 (1992)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is E. Ethiopia to Central Somalia. It is a subshrub 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

Morphology General Habit
Subshrub, c. 0.2–0.6 m tall, usually much branched, with simple hairs only
Morphology Leaves
Leaves petiolate; blades ovate to elliptic, up to 7–25 × 4–15 mm, apex obtuse or rounded, base cuneate, margin entire
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescences rather lax; bracts deciduous after anthesis
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits Fruiting calyx
Fruiting calyx downwards-pointing, c. 5 mm long, open, densely villous in the throat; upper lobe obscuring the rest of the calyx from above, suborbicular, flat, 5–6 × 4.5–5.5 mm, cordate or subcordate at the base; lateral and lower lobes subequal, narrowly deltoid
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla 4–5 mm long, white
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Anterior stamens 1.5–3 mm longer than the lower lip of the corolla; posterior stamens shorter than the lower lip of the corolla, perhaps sterile
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Nutlets obovate, c. 1.7 × 1.1 mm, smooth, brown, not producing mucilage when wet.
Distribution
C1, 2; E Ethiopia
Ecology
Altitude range 100–300 m.
[FSOM]

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

  • 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