Monsonia transvaalensis R.Knuth

Species

Angiosperms > Geraniales > Geraniaceae > Monsonia

Characteristics

Erect or decumbent, suffrutescent, few-stemmed, 10-30 cm high. Stems herbaceous to woody, up to 25 cm long, 1-2 mm in diam., pubescent with curved hairs, rarely also with scattered long erect hairs, with stalked and sessile glands. Leaves: Lower alternate, upper opposite, those of a pair unequal. the smaller leaves with lateral branches and/or inflorescences in the axil; petiole with the same indumentum as the stem, 0.2-0.5 x as long as the blade, 5-20 mm long, sometimes geniculate at the apex, not flattened at the base; stipules subulate or acicular, 4-14 mm long, reddish, with the same indumentum and glands as the stem or with only rather long hairs; blade simple, narrowly elliptic to elliptic at the base of the stems, elsewhere on the plant narrowly ovate to very narrowly ovate, 2-9 x as long as wide, 15-70 x 5-15 mm, obtuse or acute, mucronate at the apex, truncate to cuneate at the base, at the basal ¼-½ entire or rarely obscurely serrate, at the terminal part serrate at the margin, granulose on both sides, with sessile glands, sparsely to moderately pubescent or velutinous, the hairs on the veins beneath more conspicuous and more numerous, and mostly with stalked glands; main veins subpinnate, 3 branching from the base, impressed above, prominent beneath. Inflorescences axillary or terminal, 1-3-flowered, 60-120 mm long. Peduncles and pedicels slender, with the same indumentum as the stem and, furthermore, with the stalked glands conspicuous; peduncles 0.5-2(5) x as long as the pedicels, 15-55 mm long; pedicels 9-50 mm long and geniculate under the fruit; involucral bracts usually 3 per flower, conspicuous, sepal-like, 5-15 mm long. Sepals green to blackish, free, narrowly ovate to ovate, or narrowly obovate to obovate, 2-3.5 x as long as wide, 10-15 x 4-5 mm, outside pubescent or obscurely pubescent, with curved hairs, and with numerous long stalked glands, inside glabrous, with 3 parallel main veins; mucro terete, 1-4 mm long, reddish to purplish, with the same indumentum as the sepal and furthermore, also with a few scattered long erect hairs, with a small tuft of downy hairs or rarely with a pocket of yellowish resinous granules at the base. Petals obtriangular, 1-2 x as long as wide, 15-30 x 10-25 mm, 1.3-2.5 x as long as the sepals, 1.5-3 x as long as the stamens, pink or mauve, with 5 or mostly 7 purplish main veins, outside glabrous or with scattered, shortly stalked glands, inside pilose, puberulent and auriculate at the base, ciliate in the basal half at the margin, obscurely sinuate to crenate at the apex. Stamens (rarely some imperfect), monadelphous; groups basally connate for 1-2 mm; filaments of each group basally connate for 2-3 mm; filaments in the central stamens 8-9 mm and in the lateral 6-7 mm long, terete and apically recurved, hairy outside, glabrous inside; an ovate rimmed gland-cavity is situated on the outer side of the base of each group; anthers oblong, those of the long filaments sometimes slightly larger, 2.5-3.5 x 1-1.2 mm, rarely sterile and then 1.4 x 0.5 mm, normally shaped or deformed, subintrorse. Pistil 10-15 mm long; ovary obovoid, 2-3 x 2 mm, hyalino-pubescent or hirto-pubescent; beak longitudinally grooved, 4-8 mm long, pubescent, mostly with numerous stalked glands; style when present 0.5-1 mm long, obscurely hairy; stigmas linear to clavate, 3-4 x 0.4-0.6 mm, outer side obscurely hairy, margin subentire to crenate, apex obtuse or acute. Fruit 45 mm long; mericarps 11 x 2 mm and beak 35 mm long; mericarps hirsute, obliquely rimmed and ridged at the apex; beak hirsute outside, hispid inside where the tail detaches from the beak-axis; these stiff hairs copper-coloured and long at the tail's base, forming a crest. Seed narrowly obovoid, 4 mm long, glabrous.
Life form annual
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention -
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 0.1 - 0.3
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color -
Blooming months -
Fruit color
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

Light -
Soil humidity 4-6
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) -

Usage

Uses -
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 -

Distribution

Monsonia transvaalensis world distribution map, present in South Africa

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:374563-1
WFO ID wfo-0001064107
COL ID 6S23Z
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Monsonia transvaalensis