Euclea pseudebenus E.Mey.

Species

Angiosperms > Ericales > Ebenaceae > Euclea

Characteristics

Trees 3-9 m high or occasionally shrubs, with characteristically drooping branches, trunks 8-30 cm in diam. with a rough, dark bark; branches drooping, virgate, little too much branched, bark grey, or yellow or reddish-brown, young parts densely glandular and sparsely hairy. Leaves alternate, pale, usually somewhat glaucous green, thickly coriaceous, linear, often slightly falcate, 2.5-5 cm long and 2-5 mm wide; base narrowly cuneate; apex acuminate, mucronate; nervation not prominent above, midrib and margins raised below; margin often subinvolute in young leaves, otherwise quite flat, petioles very short, not exceeding 2 mm; stipules absent. Inflorescence axillary, glandular and sparsely to densely hairy; male inflorescence 3-7-flowered, female flowers usually solitary, occasionally borne in a 2-3-flowered inflorescence. Male flowers 3 mm long. Calyx about 1/6-1/4 of length of corolla, densely but shortly villous, lobes 5-6, deltoid. Corolla globose to urceolate, densely but shortly villous outside and in the upper half on the inside, shallowly 5-6 lobed on the rim, lobes ovate, somewhat reflexed. Stamens 12-20, in two rows, the inner and outer opposing each other, often joined together in pairs, the inner practically sessile; filaments glabrous, flattened, up to 1 mm long; anthers lanceolate, sparsely hairy towards the apex. Ovary rudimentary, hairy. Female flowers 2 mm long, slightly smaller than the males. Calyx and corolla as in the male flowers. Staminodes absent. Ovary ovoid, densely sericeous, situated on a fimbriate disc, usually 4-celled (or 2-celled due to incomplete septa) with a single pendulous ovule in each cell; styles 2, very short, truncate. Fruit globose, fleshy and black when ripe, glabrescent, 5-8 mm diam., usually one-seeded. Seeds globose, 3-5 mm in diam., divided into three parts by two thin lines and a groove; endosperm flinty, grey; embryo somewhat curved.
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A shrub to medium-sized slender tree 3-10 m in height, with slender drooping branches. Bark: dark, rough; branchlets very slender, hanging straight down, finely hairy; growing tips densely glandular. Leaves: spirally arranged, very narrow and slender, 1.5-5 x 0.2-0.5 cm, slightly curved, leathery, bluish green to grey-green, sometimes finely hairy when young; apex tapering, with a hair-like tip; base tapering; margin entire; petiole up to 2 mm long. Flowers: small, greenish yellow, axillary, male flowers in 3-to 7-flowered clusters, female flowers usually solitary, occasionally 2 or 3 together (Aug./Sept.). Fruit: almost round, thinly fleshy, about 5-8 mm in diameter, usually solitary, black (Feb.-May).
A small tree. It grows 4.5-9 m tall. The branches are slender and drooping. The trunk is 30 cm across. The bark is rough and dark grey. It is deeply cracked. The leaves are slender and leathery. They are often slightly curved. They are 1.3-5 cm long by 2-5 cm wide. The narrow at both ends and the tip is pointed. The leaf stalk is short. The flowers have male and female flowers on separate trees. The male flowers are usually in small groups and the female flowers single. The fruit are round and pea sized and black when ripe. They usually have one seed inside. They are edible.
Evergreen, dioecious tree or occasionally shrub, 3-9 m tall, with dark rough bark and slender drooping branches. Leaves linear, often ± falcate, thickly leathery, ± glaucous green. Flowers axillary, small, greenish yellow, corolla shallowly lobed. Fruit globose, ± fleshy.
Life form perennial
Growth form
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality dioecy
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) 0.3
Mature height (meter) 3.75 - 9.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

It is a subtropical plant. It grows in desert and semidesert regions in Africa. It is often along dry creek beds, forming a dark green ribbon along the banks. It can grow in arid places.
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Not known
Light -
Soil humidity 7-9
Soil texture 5-6
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

The fruit are eaten. They have a bitter-sweet flavour.
Uses animal food environmental use food fuel gene source material medicinal wood
Edible fruits leaves seeds
Therapeutic use -
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

Euclea pseudebenus unspecified picture

Distribution

Euclea pseudebenus world distribution map, present in Angola, Namibia, and South Africa

Conservation status

Euclea pseudebenus threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:323335-1
WFO ID wfo-0000681121
COL ID 3BTV6
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Euclea angustifolia Diospyros pseudebenum Euclea pseudebenus