Nuxia congesta R.Br. ex Fresen.

Brittlewood nuxia (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Lamiales > Stilbaceae > Nuxia

Characteristics

Shrubs or trees 2-20 m tall. Stems with stringy, shredding bark; branchlets variously pubescent to glabrescent; hairs branched, forked or simple, often gland-tipped. Leaves ternate, very variable in shape and size, elliptic-oblong, oblong, obovate-oblong to suborbicular, cuneate at the base, sometimes shortly and broadly so, rounded or somewhat acuminate to an obtuse or acute, retuse or mucronate apex, 1-8 cm long, 0.6-3.8 cm broad, rather coriaceous, margins entire or coarsely crenate-dentate, scaly or pubescent in varying degrees, often glabrescent, sometimes glutinous; hairs branched or simple and then often gland-tipped; petiole short, 2-10 mm long. Panicles cymose, terminal, rather congested, and more or less fastigiate, usually broader than long and rounded on top (more or less mushroom shaped), ultimate cymules 3-flowered, branches of the inflorescence slender, glabrous or variously pubescent with simple or branched hairs, sometimes gland-tipped. Calyx tubular-campanulate, cuneate at the base and often with a slight swelling in the narrow part below the ovary, on the outside glabrous, rugose or sparsely to densely pubescent with patent, simple or branched hairs also glandular and scaly in varying degrees, glands sometimes at the tips of the simple hairs, on the inside lined with appressed hairs, 4-lobed, the lobes erect, sometimes cohering to form a 2-lipped calyx; tube 2.5-4.5 mm long; lobes 0.5-1.5 mm long. Corolla, white or creamy white, some flowers with purplish tint especially in bud, fragrant, 'sickly scent'; tube cylindrical, about as long as the calyx-tube, glabrous without, minutely scaly within, 4-lobed; lobes reflexed at more or less the middle over the erect calyx-lobes, apical portion cucullate and somewhat thickened, in bud forming an umbo at the apex of the bud, often with a callosity on the inner face where reflexed and densely bearded at the base with reflexed pointed hairs which close the throat of the corolla, dorsally with a few appressed hairs. Stamens exserted. Ovary subglobose, the base enclosed by the persistent base of the corolla, the rest hirsute; style exserted for up to about 5 mm. Capsule very shortly exserted from the persistent calyx, hirsute.
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Corolla white, with recurved pubescence on the lobes which may be reduced to scattered hairs or is rarely absent and with minute glandular hairs at the base of the lobes and the apex of the tube (the latter sometimes on the middle of the tube or on nearly the complete tube too), inside with curved hairs in the throat and sometimes also at the apices of the lobes and with minute glandular hairs in the tube except for its glabrous base (hairs in throat or hairs in tube are occasionally absent, although never both simultaneously); tube slightly shorter or sometimes — when calyx very short only — longer than the calyx; lobes oblong, 2–3 x as long as wide, 2–5 x 1–2 mm., obtuse or subacute at the apex.
Tree or shrub, 1-20 m high, with stringy, shredding bark. Leaves 3-nate, variously pubescent, hairs simple, branched or gland-tipped; blade elliptic-oblong to suborbicular, short or long, dense or sparse, acuminate or emarginate at apex, base cuneate, decurrent into petiole, margins entire or coarsely crenate-dentate; petioles 2-10 mm long. Inflorescences congested, terminal panicles. Corolla whitish, sometimes with mauve tint; tube cylindrical; lobes 4, reflexed, apical portion cucullate (forming a peak or umbo in bud). Ovary pubescent at apex. Flowering time Oct.-June.
Leaves ternate (occasionally 4–nate), petiolate; petiole glabrous to densely pubescent, 3–20 mm. long; lamina coriaceous or subcoriaceous, very variable in shape and size, elliptic, narrowly elliptic, obovate, nearly rhomboid, or suborbicular, 1·3–3(5) times as long as wide, (1)2–15 x (0·3)1·2–7·5 cm., acuminate to emarginate at the apex, cuneate or less often rounded at the base or decurrent into the petiole, entire or sometimes more or less distinctly serrate–dentate, or crenate, glabrous to subtomentose with stellate hairs on both sides.
Shrub or tree, 2-20 m high. Leaves petiolate, 3-nate; blade variable, from elliptic-oblong, oblong, obovate-oblong to suborbicular, 10-80 x 6-38 mm; petioles short, up to 10 mm long. Flowers: in corymbose cymes, broader than long and often overtopped by leaves; corolla white or creamy white, some flowers with purplish tint especially in bud; Feb.-Nov.
Shrub or tree, 2-20 m high. Leaves 3-nate, variable: from elliptic-oblong, oblong, obovate-oblong to subor-bicular, 10-80 x 6-38 mm, petiole short, up to 10 mm long. Cymes corymbosely arranged, broader than long and often overtopped by leaves. Flowers white or creamy white, some flowers with purplish tint especially in bud.
Calyx green, often viscid, 3–8 x 1·5–2·2 mm., minutely to manifestly pubescent with glandular and mostly also ordinary hairs outside, inside sericeous; lobes variable in size, mostly about as long as wide or wider, 0·5–2 x 1–1·5 mm., acute or less often obtuse, entire, valvate, often two coherent or partially united.
Inflorescence variable in shape and size, seemingly umbellate to paniculate, congested or rather lax, 3–15 x 3–15 cm., 3–7 times branched. Peduncle and branches hairy like the branchlets.
Pistil (4·5–)7·5–13 mm. long; ovary ovoid or ellipsoid, slightly laterally compressed, 1·5–2·5 x 1·2–2 x 1–1·5 mm., appressedly hirto–pubescent, glabrous at the base.
Leaves on sucker shoots (mostly in the shade) darker green, herbaceous, serrate, and more hairy in tropical countries, but thicker in southern Africa.
Branchlets glabrous to densely pubescent, not lenticellate, with 6(8) raised lines and often sulcate when dry.
Trunk in larger trees fluted and irregularly ridged, 5–100(200) cm. in diam.; bark pale grey–brown, fissured.
Evergreen or sometimes in Ethiopia deciduous tree or shrub, 2–25 m. high, often gnarled.
Capsule 0·5–1·5 mm. longer than the calyx, appressedly hirto–pubescent.
Tree up to 80 ft. high, sometimes with a grey fluted stem
Flowers solitary or three together, fragrant.
Stamens: anthers glabrous, 1·2–2 mm. long.
Flowers creamy-white and scented
Pedicels short or obsolete.
A tree.
Life form perennial
Growth form tree
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality -
Pollination entomogamy
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 2.0 - 20.0
Root system -
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Nitrogen fixer -
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Environment

Edges of light upland or lower montane forest, bamboo zone and on hilltops above the forest margin as part of sucession towards forest; it is also common on rocky ridges; at elevations of 1,500-2,500 metres.
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It is a tropical plant. It grows on the edge of forests. In NIgeria it has been recorded at 1,800 m above sea level.
In montane forest.
Light -
Soil humidity 1-3
Soil texture 7-8
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

Uses environmental use fuel material medicinal wood
Edible fruits
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by seedlings.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
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Images

Nuxia congesta unspecified picture

Distribution

Nuxia congesta world distribution map, present in Angola, Burundi, Botswana, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Mozambique, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sao Tome and Principe, eSwatini, Togo, Tanzania, United Republic of, Uganda, South Africa, and Zambia

Conservation status

Nuxia congesta threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:546816-1
WFO ID wfo-0000797418
COL ID 484P8
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Lachnopylis mannii Lachnopylis montana Lachnopylis pubescens Lachnopylis sambesina Lachnopylis saxatilis Lachnopylis schistotricha Nuxia angolensis Nuxia breviflora Nuxia congesta Nuxia latifolia Nuxia mannii Lachnopylis breviflora Lachnopylis congesta Lachnopylis emarginata Lachnopylis heterotricha Lachnopylis speciosa Lachnopylis ternifolia Lachnopylis tomentosa Lachnopylis viscidulosa Lachnopylis viscosa Nuxia dekindtiana Nuxia emarginata Nuxia gilletii Nuxia goetzeana Nuxia keniensis Nuxia odorata Nuxia platyphylla Nuxia pubescens Nuxia tomentosa Lachnopylis angolensis Lachnopylis annobonensis Lachnopylis compacta Lachnopylis flocculosa Lachnopylis goetzeana Lachnopylis guineensis Lachnopylis odorata Lachnopylis platyphylla Lachnopylis thomensis Nuxia rupicola Nuxia sambesina Nuxia siebenlistii Nuxia viscosa Lachnopylis platyphylla Nuxia congesta var. brevifolia Lachnopylis emarginata var. brevifolia Nuxia congesta var. emarginata Nuxia congesta var. tomentosa Nuxia dentata var. transvaalensis Nuxia congesta var. thomensis