Crossopteryx febrifuga Benth.

Species

Angiosperms > Gentianales > Rubiaceae > Crossopteryx

Characteristics

Mostly fairly small savanna tree 1.8–15 m. tall, with rounded crown and pendulous branchlets, but sometimes shrubby; bark pale grey to dark brown, scaly, finely reticulate; young stems glabrous to densely pubescent hairy or tomentose.. Leaf-blades elliptic, elliptic-oblong, ovate, obovate or almost round, 1.5–13.5 cm. long, 1.2–7.5 cm. wide, rounded to shortly acuminate at the apex, broadly cuneate to rounded at the base, glabrous to densely pubescent or velvety; petioles 0.5–1.8 cm. long; stipules 2–3 mm. long, acuminate.. Inflorescences dense, up to 6–10 cm. long; peduncles up to 6 cm. long; pedicels 0.5–2 mm. long; primary and secondary bracts linear, 1.5–3.5 mm. long.. Calyx-tube 1 mm. long; lobes elliptic to linear, 0.5–1.5 mm. long, obtuse or acute.. Corolla creamy white or pale yellow, densely pubescent outside; tube tinged pink, 5–8(–11) mm. long; lobes round, 1.5 mm. long and wide.. Style exserted for 3–7.5 mm. glabrous.. Capsule blackish, 0.6–1 cm. long.. Seeds thin, flat, 3.2–5 mm. long, 2.5–3.5 mm. wide.. Fig. 67.
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Small tree or shrub, 1.8-5.0 m high. Young stems glabrous to tomentose. Leaves elliptic, elliptic-oblong, ovate, obovate or almost round, glabrous to densely pubescent or velvety. Inflorescence dense, branched, terminal, corymbose panicles. Capsule ellipsoid or globose, crustaceous, 6-10 mm long. Flowers creamy white or pale yellow, tube tinged pink.
Leaf blades 1.5–13.5 × 1.2–7.5 cm, elliptic, elliptic-oblong, ovate, obovate or almost round in shape, rounded to shortly acuminate at the apex, broadly cuneate to rounded at the base, glabrous to densely pubescent or velvety; petioles 0.5–1.8 cm long; stipules 2–3 mm long, acuminate.
Leaves oval coriaceous, deep green, glabrous, petiolate; corymbs terminal. A branched spreading shrub, with the habit of Lauristinus. Flowers pale red. Stamens 5, a little longer than the tube of the corolla. Calyx 5-cleft. Shrub 4 to 5 feet.
Mostly fairly small tree 1.8–15 m tall with rounded crown and pendulous branchlets, but sometimes shrubby; bark pale grey to dark brown or reddish, scaly, finely reticulate; young stems glabrous to densely pubescent, hairy or tomentose.
A shrub or small tree. It grows 2-5 m tall. The leaves are narrowly oval and 2-14 cm long by 1-8 cm wide. The flowering shoots are 6-10 cm long. They are white to yellow. The fruit is a capsule 0.6-1 cm long.
Inflorescences up to 6–10 cm long, dense; peduncles up to 6 cm long; pedicels 0.5–2 mm long; primary and secondary bracts 1.5–3.5 mm long, linear.
Corolla creamy-white or pale yellow, densely pubescent outside; tube 5–8(11) mm long, tinged pink; lobes 1.5 mm long and wide, round.
Calyx tube 1 mm long; lobes 0.5–1.5 mm long, elliptic to linear, obtuse or acute.
Capsule chestnut or blackish, 0.6–1 cm long with an apical calyx scar.
A savanna tree, or shrub, up to 30 ft. high
Style exserted for 3–7.5 mm, glabrous.
Variable in leaf-shape and indumentum
Flowers creamy-white, sickly scented
Seeds 3.2–5 × 2.5–3.5 mm, thin flat.
Fruits blackish.
Scaly bark
Life form perennial
Growth form tree
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination entomogamy
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 1.9 - 9.57
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

Widespread and fairly common in mixed woodland, open Combretum scrub and grassland with scattered Combretum, Acacia etc., sometimes by lakes and streamsides, in rocky places or termite mounds at elevations from 120-1,380 metres.
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It is a tropical plant. It grows in the savannah.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

Uses animal food environmental use food fuel invertebrate food material medicinal poison social use vertebrate poison wood
Edible -
Therapeutic use Enema (unspecified), Tonic (unspecified), Febrifuge (unspecified), Fumigant (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by seedlings.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Leaf

Crossopteryx febrifuga leaf picture by Maria cossa (cc-by-sa)
Crossopteryx febrifuga leaf picture by Maria cossa (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Crossopteryx febrifuga flower picture by Daniel Barthelemy (cc-by-nc)

Distribution

Crossopteryx febrifuga world distribution map, present in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Botswana, Central African Republic, Congo, Cabo Verde, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Chad, Togo, Tanzania, United Republic of, Uganda, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe

Conservation status

Crossopteryx febrifuga threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:747858-1
WFO ID wfo-0000927185
COL ID ZMMP
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Rondeletia febrifuga Rondeletia africana Tarenna mossambicensis Crossopteryx febrifuga Chomelia angolensis Chomelia buchananii Chomelia mosambicensis Crossopteryx africana Crossopteryx kotschyana Tarenna angolensis