Cadaba natalensis Sond.

Species

Angiosperms > Brassicales > Capparaceae > Cadaba

Characteristics

Shrub, often semi-scandent, or small tree 1-4 m high; branches fairly flexible, grey to yellowy brown with prominent white lenticels, glabrous or with short, coarse hairs. Leaves elliptic to obovate, 7-42 mm long, 5-13 mm wide, dark green, thin, drying papery, often pubescent but never farinose, alternate or crowded on short side shoots, lateral veins usually visible; especially on ventral surface; petiole 2-4 mm long, pubescent on upper surface at least. Flowers solitary in axils of leaves, corymbose or racemose in appearance on side shoots; pedicels slender, glabrous to sparsely pubescent, up to 2 cm long; buds globose in outline. Sepals 4, free, decussate, outer sepals concave, folded laterally, equal, c. 8 x 8 mm, pale mauve or purple-flushed, glabrous to shortly pubescent, margin of inner sepals, pubescent. Petals 0. Androphore c. 2 cm long, glabrous to thinly pubescent, with basal nectary not conspicuous in open flowers, nor often persisting on young fruit, flask-shaped, with recurved neck not attached to androphore, mouth dentate. Stamens usually 5, 1 stamen at lower level than rest, not often persisting on mature fruit. Gynophore 5-7 mm long, thinly pubescent. Ovary cylindric, with capitate, sessile stigma. Ovules numerous, attached on two placentas. Fruit cylindric, usually 5 cm (up to 5-4 cm) long and 5 mm wide, verrucose, subtorulose, glabrous to thinly pubescent. Seeds c. 3 mm long, embedded in scarlet powdery matrix, reniform with verrucose black to brown testa.
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Tree or shrub, 1-4 m high, branches flexible, grey to yellow brown, lenticels white, prominent; glabrous or hairy. Leaves alternate or crowded on side shoots, petiolate, dark green, thin, drying papery, pubescent, elliptic to obovate. Flowers solitary, corymbose or racemose, pedicellate. Sepals 4, pale mauve or purple-flushed, free, glabrous to pubescent, margins of inner sepals pubescent. Petals absent. Stamens usually 5. Ovary cylindric. Fruit cylindrical, verrucose, glabrous to pubescent. Seeds embedded in a scarlet powdery matrix, reniform; verrucose black to brown testa.
Leaves alternate or crowded on short lateral spurs; lamina 1.2–3.5 x 0.4–1.5 cm., elliptic or oblanceolate, apex rounded or emarginate, apiculate, cuneate at the base, glabrous on both sides or sparsely pubescent; petiole up to 5 mm. long, pubescent, at least on the upper side.
Sepals c. 0.9 x 0.8 cm., very broadly ovate, subacute at the apex, subequal, the upper and lower very concave, pubescent on the margins, sometimes pubescent outside; lateral sepals pubescent on the margins.
Flowers solitary in the axils of the leaves but becoming racemose in appearance on the short side shoots; pedicels up to 2 cm. long, glabrous or pubescent.
Pedicels and all young parts glabrous. Leaves present. Pedicel slender, longer than 10 mm. Nectary with recurved neck. Flowers whitish green.
Androgynophore c. 2 cm. long, slightly declinate, with a basal flask-shaped nectary c. 7 x 3.5 mm. having a recurved neck and dentate mouth.
Seeds c. 2.5 mm. in diam., sub-reniform, dark brown, with concentric rugose ridges, embedded in a bright orange or scarlet, powdery matrix.
Ovary narrowly cylindric, glabrous or minutely puberulous; ovules numerous, on 2 placentas; stigma sessile, capitate.
Small shrub 1–2 m. tall with stiff, greyish-brown branches, glabrous or occasionally with a short, coarse pubescence.
Fruit 3–4 x 0.4 cm., narrowly cylindric, sub-torulose, minutely verrucose, many-seeded.
Stamens 5–6, filaments c. 1 cm. long, glabrous; anthers 3 x 1.5 mm., oblong.
Gynophore c. 1 cm. long, glabrous or minutely puberulous.
Petals 0.
Life form perennial
Growth form shrub
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 1.0 - 4.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

Light -
Soil humidity 1-3
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

Uses medicinal
Edible -
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Distribution

Cadaba natalensis world distribution map, present in Botswana, Mozambique, eSwatini, South Africa, and Zimbabwe

Conservation status

Cadaba natalensis threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:146218-1
WFO ID wfo-0000578390
COL ID P78H
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Cadaba natalensis