Dovyalis spinosissima Gilg

Species

Angiosperms > Malpighiales > Salicaceae > Dovyalis

Characteristics

Much branched shrub or shrubby tree, 2–10 m. tall, often multistemmed from the base, the distal part of branches pendulous; bark rather rough; stem with conical (sometimes slightly recurved) bark-covered spines 2(–5) cm. long.. Branchlets slender, brownish to greyish, lenticels scattered, tips pubescent initially, axillary spines generally present, stoutish, 0.5–6(–7.5) cm. long.. Leaf-blades ovate to elliptic, shortly obtusely acuminate, or obtuse, base broadly cuneate to rounded, chartaceous, with scattered pellucid points visible against strong light, sparsely to subdensely appressed hairy on midrib and nerves on both faces, glabrescent with age, entire or serrulate, (2.5–)4–9(–18) cm. long, (1.5–)2–5(–8) cm. broad; lateral nerves 4–5 rather steeply ascending pairs, the lowest 1 or 2 pair(s) from the base or a little above, raised beneath, reticulation obscure; petiole pubescent initially, 5–10(rarely –20) mm. long.. Male flowers 2–5 per fascicle, tomentellous; pedicels 7–15 mm.. Calyx-lobes 5–6(–7), narrowly subacuminate-ovate, sometimes irregularly and minutely laciniate or dented near apex, entire below, (5–)6–8 mm. long, 2(–4) mm. broad.. Disk-glands glabrous or shortly hairy distally.. Female flowers solitary, tomentellous; pedicels 5–10 mm. long.. Calyx-lobes 7–10, similar to those of the ♂ flowers, entire, 6–9 mm. long, 2(–4) mm. broad at anthesis, up to 14 mm. long in fruit.. Disk-glands numerous, close together in a kind of ring, glabrous or a little hairy.. Ovary tomentose; styles (7–)8–12(–18), hairy below.. Fruit subglobular, a little flattened or deepened on top and base, apple-like, 10–15 cm. across and greenish yellow when fresh, (5–)6–10 cm. across and becoming blackish when dry, glabrescent.. Seeds rather numerous, glabrous.
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Male flowers 2–3-fasciculate in the leaf-axils on densely and shortly pubescent pedicels up to 6 mm. long; calyx 5–7-lobed almost to the base, lobes c. 5 x 2–2.5 mm., lanceolate-oblong, acuminate at the apex, margin minutely laciniately lobed near the apex, entire below, densely pubescent on both sides; stamens c. 40 on filaments up to 3–5 mm. long; inter-staminal glands ciliate at the apex.
Leaf-lamina 3–9.5 x 1.75–4.75 cm., broadly elliptic, apex obtuse or bluntly acuminate, base broadly cuneate or rounded, margins entire, slightly revolute, nerves in 4–5 pairs, slightly prominent on both sides, venation very laxly reticulate below, petiole up to 5 mm. long.
Shrub or small tree glabrous except for the inflorescences or with a very few scattered setulose hairs on the leaves; branches greyish with prominent pale lenticels and axillary spines up to 4.5 cm. long.
Female flowers and fruit so far unknown.
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Growth form tree
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Foliage retention deciduous
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Mature height (meter) 1.02 - 5.02
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Environment

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Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

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Edible -
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Cultivation

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Distribution

Dovyalis spinosissima world distribution map, present in Burundi, Cameroon, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, United Republic of, and Uganda

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:365313-1
WFO ID wfo-0000925169
COL ID 6DJSL
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Dovyalis spinosissima Dovyalis maliformis