Cola greenwayi

Cola greenwayi, commonly known as hairy cola[1] or Zulu coshwood,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae. It was first described in 1956 by the English botanist John Patrick Micklethwait Brenan.[3] It is native to southeastern Africa.

Cola greenwayi
Cola greenwayi at Nibela Peninsula
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Cola
Species:
C. greenwayi
Binomial name
Cola greenwayi
Synonyms

Cola microcarpa

Description

Cola greenwayi is a small to medium-sized evergreen tree growing to around 20 m (66 ft), either monoecious or dioecious. The smaller branches and twigs are brown and densely hairy at first. The leaves are alternate, purplish-brown when young and dark green and leathery when older, up to 15 by 5 cm (6 by 2 in). They are stalked, simple, elliptical or oblanceolate, and have prominent veins. There is a hairy swelling known as a pulvinus at the base of each leaf-blade, which acts as a hinge. The flowers are in clusters growing in the axils of the leaves. They have small, rusty-brown, hairy bracts. The calyx has four to six lobes and there are no petals. The four to five carpels turn yellowish-orange when ripe, making a sub-globose fruit, hairy at first, and later with a thin, brittle rind. It usually contains one or two seeds.[1][4]

Distribution and habitat

This tree is native to southeastern Africa, its range extending from Kenya and Tanzania southwards to Zimbabwe and Mozambique,[1] Transvaal and eastern KwaZulu-Natal. Its habitat is dense forest, often on steep slopes, from sea level up to about 1,100 m (3,600 ft).[4] It is also part of the typical flora of the Southern African Sand Forest which grows on ancient sand dunes on the border of northern KwaZulu-Natal and southern Mozambique.[5]

gollark: I mean... that's not really a very good way to think about these things?
gollark: "Advance" meaning "more than a few hours before".
gollark: I... don't really remember most of them being talked about in advance.
gollark: Hmm. This new layout is definitely a thing which exists.
gollark: That would be worse than having him not be blind, for various reasons.

References
  1. "Cola greenwayi Brenan". Flora of Zimbabwe. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  2. Quattrocchi, Umberto (1999). CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms, and Etymology. CRC Press. p. 579. ISBN 978-0-8493-2675-2.
  3. "Cola greenwayi Brenan". Tropicos. Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  4. Verdoorn, I.C. (1981). "The genus Cola in southern Africa". Bothalia. 13 (3/4): 277–279. doi:10.4102/abc.v13i3/4.1317. S2CID 82546895.
  5. Matthews, Wayne. "Maputaland's Tembe Elephant National Park – a little known reserve with many natural secrets". Retrieved 27 July 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.