Monanthotaxis caffra (Sond.) Verdc.
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/10.3767/blumea.2021.66.02.01 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/565E87CB-FF91-F94E-B01F-3D0EA38E2963 |
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treatment provided by |
Felipe |
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scientific name |
Monanthotaxis caffra (Sond.) Verdc. |
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11. Monanthotaxis caffra (Sond.) Verdc. View in CoL — Fig. 8 View Fig ; Plate 2b View Plate 2 ; Map 8 View Map 8
Monanthotaxis caffra (Sond.) Verdc. (1971b) 24. — Guatteria caffra Sond. in Harv. & Sond. (1860) 9. — Popowia caffra (Sond.) Benth. in Benh. & Hook.f.(1862) 470. — Lectotype (designated here): J.F. Drège 4082 (lecto B (B100153015); isolecto FHO not seen, HBG-502507, K000198959, P01954699, P01986740), South Africa, Kwazulu-Natal, prope Port Natal; other syntype: W. Gueinzius s.n. (G00308299), South Africa, Kwazulu-Natal, Natal, 1847.
Small tree, shrub, scandent shrub or liana, to 10 m long, c. 1 cm diam; young branches green in vivo, reddish brown in sicco, sparsely covered with appressed or erect, reddish brown to pale brown hairs c. 0.4 mm long, becoming glabrous; old branches dark brown. Leaves: petiole 3–5 mm long, c. 1 mm diam, grooved, indument as on branches; lamina narrowly elliptic to narrowly obovate, 5.5–10.8 by 2.1–3.5 cm, 2.6–3.4 times longer than wide, chartaceous to coriaceous, punctate, glaucous below, above becoming glabrous, but covered with long-persistent hairs at the base of the primary vein, below covered with appressed, yellowish brown to pale brown hairs c. 0.2 mm long, base cuneate to rounded, with slightly thickened margins, apex acute to slightly acuminate, acumen to 10 mm long, primary vein yellowish or reddish, often contrasting with darker petiole, secondary veins 9 or 10 per side, curving upwards, tertiary venation reticulate, raised above and slightly so below or not visible below. Inflorescences leaf-opposed, composed of solitary flowers or 2–4-flowered cymes; sympodial rachis 0–2 mm long, indument as branches; pedicels 6–12 mm long, 0.5–1 mm diam, fruiting pedicels 10–17 mm long, 1–1.5 mm diam, indument as branches; lower bracts broadly ovate to lanceolate, 1–3.5 by c. 1 mm, indument as branches; upper bract broadly triangular to ovate, 1.5–1.6 by 0.7–1.2 mm, indument as pedicel; flower buds depressed globose to globose. Flowers bisexual; sepals basally slightly connate, depressed ovate, 0.6–0.8 by 2.5–4 mm, apex obtuse, densely covered with reddish brown, short hairs, persistent in fruit; receptacle 4–5 mm diam, flat, covered with short, brown hairs between the carpels and stamens; petals pale yellowish to yellow, inside drying reddish brown to purple, 6(–8), in two whorls, outer petals broadly ovate, 3, 6–7 by 6–7 mm, outside covered with yellowish, short hairs, inside with hairs at the apex, inner petals 3(–5), ovate, 3–4 by 2–3 mm, outside covered with short hairs, inside covered with hairs at the apex and base; stamens 15 or 16, in three groups of 5 (or 6), opposite to the inner petals, free, obconical, 0.9–1.1 mm long, filaments 0.2–0.3 mm long, thecae latrorse, 0.7–0.8 mm long, connective truncate, glabrous, staminodes absent; carpels 11–15, ellipsoid, 0.9–1.1 by c. 0.5 mm, glabrous, except for some hairs at the base, ovules 1 (or 2), basal, stigma elongate, 0.4–0.5 mm long, grooved, glabrous. Monocarps up to 8, orange to bright red when ripe, narrowly ellipsoid, 12– 20 by 5 – 6 mm, sparsely covered with appressed hairs at the stipe, 2-seeded ones slightly constricted between the seeds, rugulose to smooth, apex apiculate, apiculum c. 1 mm long, stipes 3.5–5 mm long, slightly to strongly grooved. Seeds 1 or 2, ellipsoid, c. 7.5 by 6.2 mm, ochre-brown, both ends rounded to sometimes slightly apiculate, raphe not visible.
Distribution — South Africa (Eastern Cape, Kwazulu-Natal, Mpumalanga), Swaziland (Lubombo).
Habitat & Ecology — On rock outcrops, coastal forest, mountain forest, gallery forest, swamp forest and secondary forest; on sandstone, black turf soil and sandy mixed soil. Altitude: 0– 914 m. Flowering: September to April; fruiting: all year round.
Vernacular names — South Africa ( Foden & Potter 2005): Dwababessie (Afrikaans); Dwaba-berry (English); Idwabe, Isid- waba, Iviriga (Xhosa); Ithunganhlanzi, Mkonjane, Umavumba, Umazwenda Omhlophe, Umazwende, Umgogawezinhlanya, Umgogi Wezihlanya (Zulu).
Preliminary IUCN conservation status — Least concern (LC). EOO: 142 438 km 2, AOO: 260 km 2. This species is known from many localities including some nature reserves and some recent collections.
Uses — The fruits are edible ( Van Eck et al. 1997, Van Wyk 2011).
Note — Monanthotaxis caffra is the only species of Monanthotaxis occurring in its distribution range. The distribution almost overlaps with the closely related M. maputensis in Kwazulu-Natal.The only reliable character to distinguish M. caffra from M. maputensis are the stamens, which have short filaments in M. caffra ( Fig. 8c View Fig ) and long filaments in M. maputensis ( Fig. 21g, h View Fig ). Furthermore, the majority of specimens of M. caffra can be distinguished from M. maputensis in having larger and hairier leaves, thicker pedicels and larger stipes.
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