Melochia nodiflora Sw.

Bretonica prieta (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Malvales > Malvaceae > Melochia

Characteristics

Shrub, sometimes herb or undershrub, 1-3.5 m. high, the young stems and branches slightly pilose, the hairs chiefly stellate. Leaves short-to long-petiolate, the petiole slender, 0.5-3 cm. long, more or less densely stellate-hispidulous, the stipules linear-lanceolate, 4-5 mm. long; blade ovate, rounded or slightly sub-cordate at the base, acuminate at the apex, up to 12 cm. long and 6.5 cm. wide, membranous, the margins serrate, more or less densely appressed-pilose, the indu-mentum denser on the lower surface, becoming glabrescent, the nervation slightly prominent beneath. Inflorescences axillary, of dense, sessile or subsessile, more or less globose clusters. Flowers 4.5-5.3 mm. long, sessile or subsessile, the bracts distinct or 2-to 3-connate, linear to linear-subulate, stellate-puberulous and ciliolate; calyx campanulate, ca. 3.5-4 mm. long and 3 mm. wide, the lobes triangular, somewhat caudate-acuminate, ca. 2.2-3 mm. long and 1-1.5 mm. wide at the base, stellate-puberulous and appressed-pilose outside, glabrous inside, persistent; petals oblong-obovate, shortly unguiculate and more or less long-adnate to the base of the staminal tube, rounded at the apex, ca. 4.5-5.3 mm. long and 1.7-1.9 mm. wide, pink; staminal tube ca. 2.5 mm. long, glabrous, the anthers subsessile and ca. 0.8 mm. long; ovary sessile, oblong to oblong-ellipsoid, ca. 1-1.4 mm. ]ong and 0.7-1.2 mm. in diam., sericeous and with simple hairs, the styles free and ca. 1.6-1.7 mm. long, the stigmas minutely papillate. Capsule surrounded by the persistent calyx, subglobose, ca. 3.5 mm. long and 3.8-4 mm. in diam., shortly stellate-puberulouls and pilose, each coccus ca. 1.7 mm. thick, opening along the inner angle; seed ca. 2-2.2 mm. long and 1.2-1.3 mm. thick.
Life form perennial
Growth form shrub
Growth support -
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 1.75 - 3.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

Uses medicinal
Edible -
Therapeutic use -
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

Leaf

Melochia nodiflora leaf picture by Galadrielle974 (cc-by-sa)
Melochia nodiflora leaf picture by Juan Carlos Ordonez (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Melochia nodiflora flower picture by González Andrea (cc-by-sa)
Melochia nodiflora flower picture by Galadrielle974 (cc-by-sa)
Melochia nodiflora flower picture by Formina Lara (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Melochia nodiflora world distribution map, present in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Brazil, Barbados, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Montserrat, Martinique, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, United States of America, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), and Viet Nam

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:824514-1
WFO ID wfo-0000452152
COL ID 3ZLXL
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID 630137
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Visenia nodiflora Riedlea nodiflora Melochia conglobata Riedlea borbonica Melochia carpinifolia Mougeotia nodiflora Melochia borbonica Melochia nodiflora var. longipetiolata Melochia nodiflora