Leucosidea sericea Eckl. & Zeyh.

Oldwood (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Rosales > Rosaceae > Leucosidea

Characteristics

Leaves (2)5–7(10) cm. in outline; upper surface dark green, turning dark brown when dried, shortly tomentose, lower surface shining white sericeous-villous; lateral leaflets 2–3-paired, oblong to obovate with cuneate base; margins regularly inciso-dentate with c. 15 uninerved teeth 2–4 mm. long; distal pair of leaflets up to 3·5 x l·5 cm., the more proximal ones smaller and sometimes interposed with 1–2 pairs of reduced minute leaflets with only 1–3(5) teeth; rhachis, midribs and lateral main nerves densely white-sericeous-villous; petiole 0·5–0·8(1·2) cm. long, articulated; stipules c. 10 x 3·5 mm., entire, brown, membranous, white-sericeous, adnate to and exceeding petiole, sheathing the stem, persistent for years after the leaves are shed, usually ± imbricate towards the base of the branches.
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Shrub or small tree, densely leafy, silky-villous, 2-4 m high. Leaves alternate, grey-green, aromatic, petiolate, imparipinnate; leaflets 3 or 4 pairs, incised, toothed, sessile; stipules adnate to petiole. Inflorescence a dense, terminal spike. Flowers shortly pedicellate, yellowish green or yellow. Calyx: tube obconic, villous, ± constricted in throat, persistent; lobes 10-12 in 2 rows. Petals 5(6), ± obovate, deciduous. Disc lining calyx tube annular, villous at mouth. Stamens 10-12, inserted on disc; anthers didymous, almost versatile. Gynoecium of 2-4 free carpels; ovules solitary per carpel; styles terete, exserted; stigmas lateral. Flowering time Sept.-Jan. Fruit: membranous achenes enclosed in receptacle.
Shrub, up to 3 m high, sometimes a tree up to 10 m high. Stems much branched, very leafy; bark reddish brown. Leaves compound; blade imparipinnate, obovate; leaflets in 3 or 4 pairs, pinnae blades with apices mucronate, margins serrate, revolute on lower surface, silky and glandular-hairy, upper surface green, lower surface greyish. Flowers: densely aggregated in terminal racemes; calyx with tube obconic, 3-4 mm long, constricted in throat, silky, persistent; petals 5 or 6, deciduous, yellowish green or yellow; Aug.-Feb.
Flowers borne in many-flowered ± cylindrical erect racemes up to 10 x 3 cm.; pedicels up to 6 mm. long, ± hidden within a basal cymbiform bract and also subtended by 2 smaller (c. 2·5 mm. long) ovate-acute bracts which embrace the base of the calyx-tube.
Much-branched, very leafy shrub, up to 3 m high or sometimes a tree up to 10 m high. Bark reddish brown. Leaves imparipinnate, green or grey. Inflorescences with flowers densely aggregated in terminal racemes. Flowers yellow.
Much-branched shrub c. 3 m. tall or small tree up to 5(?10) m., usually appearing shaggy shining white at a distance; young twigs densely leafy; branches flexuous, exfoliating, reddish-brown.
Calyx-tube obconical, 3–4 mm. long, dorsally sericeous-villous; epicalyx-lobes c. 2 x 2 mm., ovate-rhombic, with the apex obtuse; calyx-lobes c. 4 x 1·5 mm., triangular.
Achenes 1(2-?3), enclosed within the indurated calyx-tube with persistent epicalyx and calyx-lobes.
Filaments of longer stamens c. 1·1 mm. long, of shorter ones c. 0·7 mm.
Ovary sericeous in upper 1/3; styles 1·5–2·0 mm. long, glabrous.
Petals c. 3 x 1·6 mm., broadly elliptic-rhombic, lemon-yellow.
Disk annular, hairy.
Life form
Growth form
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 3.0
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 1-6
Soil texture 5-6
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

Uses fuel medicinal
Edible -
Therapeutic use Firewood (unspecified), Vermifuge (unspecified), Charm (unspecified), Construction (unspecified)
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 -

Images

Flower

Leucosidea sericea flower picture by Vance Martin (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Leucosidea sericea world distribution map, present in Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe

Conservation status

Leucosidea sericea threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:725970-1
WFO ID wfo-0000986071
COL ID 6Q5PP
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Leucosidea sericea