Diospyros scabrida (harv. ex Hiern) De Winter

Species

Angiosperms > Ericales > Ebenaceae > Diospyros

Characteristics

Erect, evergreen, rigidly branched shrubs. 0.6-2 m high; branches erect or divaricately spreading; branchlets densely leafy, ferruginous-pubescent soon becoming glabrous; bark ash-grey, yellowish or whitish, more or less smooth. Leaves alternate, very shortly petioled; petiole about 1 mm long, pubescent; leaf-blade flat, elliptic, ovate-oblong, broadly oblong or even suborbicular, varying from 1 cm long and 1.2 cm wide to 7 cm long and 3 cm wide, strongly coriaceous, glossy above, upper surface glabrous or occasionally sparsely and somewhat appressed-hairy, sparsely to densely strigose below, especially the young leaves; midrib prominent below, slightly impressed above, secondary nerves inconspicuous or prominent below; apex rounded to acute; base distinctly cordate to cuneate-cordate; margins entire, hairy (densely so in young leaves). Flowers dioecious, female or functionally male, 0.7-1 cm long, fragrant, white or cream, occasionally solitary, usually in 2-4-flowered pseudo-racemes ending in a few small leaves; peduncles 0.5-2 cm long, hairy with pin-shaped glands amongst the hairs; bracts 2, leaf-like, about 5 mm long, deciduous, approximate or distant, ovate-acuminate, strigose below, glabrous above, margins fimbriate. Calyx 5-partite, segments lanceolate-ovate, acuminate, free nearly to the base, 4.5-6 cm long, pubescent on the back, with occasionally a few scattered long hairs or densely hispid with small pin-shaped glands among the hairs; margins fimbriate. Corolla up to 10 mm long, tube 3-5 mm, glabrous, lobes as long as or a little longer than the tube, broadly oblong with a rounded or subacute apex, glabrous to finely pubescent, imbricate. Stamens usually 10 (occasionally 6-9), 3-4.5 mm long; anthers linear-lanceolate, with a tuft of hairs at the base and with a few scattered hairs on the back, reduced to staminodes in female flowers. Ovary 4-6-celled, conical, pubescent and glandular with pin-shaped glands; style branches 2, glabrous; disc present. Fruit ovoid to globose, about 1 cm long, style persistent as a small mucro; calyx strongly accrescent, much exceeding and enclosing the fruits, lobes broadly ovate-cordate, pubescent to glabrescent, 1.5-2.5 cm long. Seeds 7 mm long, 3-4 per fruit, flattened on inside face rounded on the back.
More
Erect, evergreen shrub, 0.3-3.0 m high; branchlets densely leafy; bark ash-grey to yellowish. Leaves alternate, strongly coriaceous, upper surface glossy, elliptic to suborbicular. Flowers female or functionally male; in 2-4-flowered pseudo-racemes, creamy white, corolla imbricate; stamens 10, reduced to staminodes in female flower; ovary conical, 4-6-celled. Flowering time Aug.-Mar. Fruit globose, enclosed in accrescent calyx, with lobes broadly ovate-cordate. Seed 3 or 4 per fruit.
An evergreen shrub or small tree. The leaves are in 2 ranks. They are shiny and dark green. The base can be lobed and there are hairs on young leaves. The flowers are white to cream and in small groups. The fruit is an oval red berry. The calyx lobes almost cover the fruit.
Life form -
Growth form shrub
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality dioecy
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 0.45 - 2.5
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Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

It is a subtropical plant. It grows on rocky outcrops in grassland.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture 7-8
Soil acidity -
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Hardiness (USDA) -

Usage

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

Cultivation

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Distribution

Diospyros scabrida world distribution map, present in South Africa

Conservation status

Diospyros scabrida threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:322992-1
WFO ID wfo-0000649723
COL ID 6CX4B
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Royena supra-cordata Royena opaca Royena scabrida Diospyros scabrida Diospyros scabrida var. cordata Diospyros scabrida var. scabrida Royena cordata