Melochia manducata C.Wright

Species

Angiosperms > Malvales > Malvaceae > Melochia

Characteristics

Herb or undershrub, 0.30-1 m. high, the young stems usually with a row of short stellate hairs decurrent from the stipule-bases, sometimes also with few gland-tipped hairs. Leaves long-petiolate, the petiole slender, canaliculate and stellate-puberulous above, rounded and nearly glabrous beneath, 0.7-3 cm. long, the stipules linear-lanceolate, ca. 4-5 mm. long and ciliolate; blade ovate to broadly ovate, rounded at the base, acute at the apex, up to 5.5 cm. long and 3.5 cm. wide, membranous, the margins irregularly serrate or doubly serrate, sparsely and shortly appressecd-pilose especially along the nerves, the nervation very slightly prominent beneath. Inflorescences axillary or terminal, of solitary or mostly fasciculate, more or less clustered cymes, the cymes shortly pedunculate, the pe-duncles generally glabrous. Flowers ca. 2.7 mm. long, shortly pedicellate, the pedicel 1.5-4 mm. long, generally glabrous, the bracts 3, linear-lanceolate, ca. 3 mm. long, ciliolate; calyx broadly campanulate, ca. 2 mm. long and 1.8-2 mm. wide, the lobes abruptly and shortly acuminate, ca. 0.5 mm. long and 1 mm. wide at the base, sparsely hispidulous and chiefly with gland-tipped hairs outside, glabrous inside, persistent; petals oblong-obovate, shortly unguiculate and slightly adnate to the base of the staminal tube, rounded at the apex, ca. 2.7 mm. long and 1 mm. wide, pink; staminal tube ca. 1.5 mm. long, glabrous, the anthers shortly stipitate, ca. 0.5 mm. long; ovary sessile, ellipsoid, ca. 0.7 mm. long and 0.5 mm. in diam., nearly glabrous, the styles connate at the base, ca. 1-1.1 mm. long, the stigmas obscurely tuberculate. Capsule surrounded by the persistent calyx, depressed-globose, ca. 3-3.5 mm. long and 4.5 mm. in diam., hispidulous and chiefly with gland-tipped hairs, each coccus ca. 2 mm. thick, splitting com-pletely into 2 valves; seed ca. 2.2-2.5 mm. long and 1.2 mm. thick.
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Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
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Mature height (meter) 0.3 - 1.0
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Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

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Cultivation

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Distribution

Melochia manducata world distribution map, present in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:824501-1
WFO ID wfo-0000451965
COL ID 3ZLX7
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID 735188
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Melochia manducata Melochia glandulifera