Otiophora scabra Zucc.

Species

Angiosperms > Gentianales > Rubiaceae > Otiophora

Characteristics

Annual or rarely perennial herb or undershrub 0.15–1 m. tall; stems slender, erect or rarely procumbent, much-branched, covered with dense white scaly hairs above but glabrescent below or rarely ± glabrous.. Leaves opposite or appearing verticillate owing to the presence of very abbreviated axillary shoots; blades lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, 1–7.5 cm. long, 0.2–1(–2) cm. wide, acute at the apex, cuneate at the base, somewhat revolute at the margins, glabrous to densely covered with adpressed scaly white hairs particularly above; petioles almost or quite obsolete; stipules with 3–4 fimbriae ± 1.5–3 mm. long.. Flowers geminate in terminal spikes 1.2–15 cm. long (up to 26.5 cm. in fruit); pedicels obsolete.. Calyx-tube ovoid, 1 mm. long, densely covered with spreading bristly hairs; lobes 5, 1 foliaceous, lanceolate, 3–5 mm. long, 1–2 mm. wide, with entire revolute margins usually covered with white bristly hairs, rest of lobes small or minute, unequal, densely hairy.. Corolla white or usually red, lilac, mauve or blue; buds with limb abruptly expanded into an ovoid head; corolla-tube very narrowly filiform, (2–)3.5–6 mm. long, 0.2 mm. wide, glabrous; throat glabrous; lobes 4–5, lanceolate, 2–2.5 mm. long, 0.5–0.75 mm. broad, usually hairy outside.. Stamens 4–5, exserted for up to ± 2 mm.; filaments glabrous.. Style filiform, the stigma bilobed, lobes filiform, 1–1.5 mm. long, style and stigma together exserted for a distance equalling the corolla-lobes.. Fruit pale yellow-brown to dark purplish brown, ovoid, 2 mm. long, 1.2–1.5 mm. wide, densely covered with white hairs.. Seeds black, ovoid, 1.4 mm. long, 0.9 mm. wide, ventrally flattened, granulated, slightly keeled dorsally and with a narrow depression surrounding the hilum.
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Corolla lilac, mauve, blue, reddish or white, tube (2)3.5–6 mm. long, filiform, glabrous, lobes 2–2.5 x 0.5–0.8 mm., lanceolate, usually hairy outside; filaments c. 1.5–2.5 mm. long, glabrous, anthers c. 1 mm. long; style (3)5–8 mm. stigma lobes 1-1.5 mm. long; ovary c. 1 x 0.6–0.8 mm., densely hairy.
Leaves decussate, often pseudo-verdcillate; blades (10)15–90 x 2–20(22) mm., ovate to lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, glabrous to densely hairy, particularly above; petioles 0–8 mm. long; stipular sheath with 3–4 setae, c. 1–3 mm. long.
Calyx: enlarged, foliaceous lobe c. 3–5 x 1-2 mm., lanceolate, margins usually hairy, setiform lobes small or minute, unequal, densely hairy.
Stems c. 15–100 cm. long, slender, ± much-branched, densely hairy above, glabrescent below or rarely subglabrous.
Seed blackish, c. 1.4–1.6 x 0.8 mm., ovoid, dorsal side convex, slightly keeled, ventral side flat
Inflorescence many-flowered, spike-like, to c. 25 cm. long when in fruit.
Fruit yellowish brown to dark purplish brown; mericarps 2 x 0.7–0.9 mm.
Annual or rarely perennial herb or subshrub, erect or straggling.
Bud with limb abruptly expanded into an ovoid head.
Life form
Growth form herb
Growth support -
Foliage retention -
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 0.15 - 1.0
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 -
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

Otiophora scabra world distribution map, present in Angola, Burkina Faso, Mozambique, Tanzania, United Republic of, Zambia, and Zimbabwe

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:758714-1
WFO ID wfo-0000261536
COL ID 6TCP9
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Otiophora scabra Otiophora scabra var. glabra Otiophora scabra var. scabra

Lower taxons

Otiophora scabra subsp. diffusa Otiophora scabra subsp. scabra