Macaranga kilimandscharica Pax

A small to medium tree 4.5–18 m., or large tree up to 27 m., often with a pyramidal crown, much branched, the branches ascending, or with a broad, spreading crown.. Bark green at first, later becoming greyish white, light or dark grey, pale reddish brown or dark greyish brown, thin, smooth or longitudinally striated or fluted, with prominent lenticels.. Wood soft, heavy.. Young shoots and inflorescence-axes densely ferruginous tomentellous at first, later glabrescent.. Petioles (1–)5–10(–14) cm. long, pulvinate at the base, indumentum ± as in M. capensis; leaf-blades triangular-ovate to rhombic-lanceolate, (3–)5–15(–17) cm. long, (1.5–)3–10 cm. wide, acutely acuminate, entire, cuneate, rounded, truncate, occasionally cordulate, peltate or not, usually biglandular at the petiole-insertion, firmly chartaceous to thinly coriaceous, 3–7(–9)-nerved from the base, lateral nerves (5–)7–12 pairs, not prominent above, prominent beneath, brochidodromous, tertiary nerves parallel or subparallel, not or scarcely concentric at the base, densely minutely uniformly glandular-punctate beneath, the glands drying blackish, ferruginous tomentellous above and beneath and occasionally whitish hirsute towards the bases of the midrib and main nerves beneath at first (rarely over the entire surface), later usually ± glabrescent, dark or very dark green with pallid nerves above, usually somewhat glaucous with yellowish brown nerves beneath.. Stipules narrowly lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, 8–15 mm. long, 2–3 mm. wide, acutely acuminate, entire, densely ferruginous tomentellous, caducous.. Inflorescences axillary, solitary.. Male inflorescences paniculate, (3–)5–10 cm. long, axes zigzag towards the apex; bracts ovate-lanceolate to triangular-ovate, (2–)3–4(–5) mm. long, rarely longer, the proximal ones a little larger than the distal, the distal ones thickened, reflexed, entire, biglandular at the base, uniglandular at the apex, rarely multiglandular, 20–30-flowered.. Male flowers subsessile; calyx-lobes 3, elliptic-ovate, 1 mm. long, puberulous without, glabrous within, yellowish green or cream; stamens 2, filaments united at the base, 1 mm. long, whitish, anthers obscurely 4-thecous, 0.5 mm. across, yellow.. Female inflorescences racemose to subpaniculate, 2–6(–7.5) cm. long; axis straight; bracts ± as in the male inflorescences, but only 1–3-flowered.. Female flowers with pedicels 1–2 mm. long; calyx cupular, splitting into 2–3 lobes and becoming flattened as the fruit matures, fulvous tomentellous or puberulous without, glabrous within, greenish; ovary 1–2-lobate, 1–1.5 mm. long, 1–2 mm. wide, densely yellowish granulate-glandular; styles 1–2, recurved, united at the base when 2, 1–2 mm. long, adaxially densely papillose, abaxially puberulous, tinged with red or purple.. Fruit transversely ovoid, subglobose or bilobate, 4–6 mm. long, 5–11 mm. diameter, densely granulate-glandular, dull green; styles laterally displaced in the monococcous fruits.. Seeds subglobose, (3.5–)4–4.5 mm. diameter, shallowly malleate-rugulose or ± smooth, dull or shiny, dark brown to blackish.

A pioneer species of montane and upper montane evergreen forests; it may be locally common to dominant in wetter vegetation types; at elevations from 1,300-3,000 metres.

Can be grown by seedlings.