Phyllanthus parvus Hutch.

Species

Angiosperms > Malpighiales > Phyllanthaceae > Phyllanthus

Characteristics

Monoecious, glabrous, erect annual herb 10–20 cm. tall.. Orthotropic stems terete, reddish at the base, green above. Plagiotropic shoots up to 9 cm. long, more usually 2–5 cm. long, subterete.. Cataphylls linear-lanceolate, 0.7 mm. long, brownish, often replaced by narrow foliage leaves. Cataphyllary stipules triangular-lanceolate, 1 mm. long, purplish brown.. Leaves of the plagiotropic shoots (and of the orthotropic stems, where developed) with petioles ± 1 mm. long; blades linear-lanceolate to narrowly elliptic-lanceolate, 0.8–1.8 cm. long, 1–4 mm. wide, acute or subacute, cuneate or attenuate-cuneate, membranaceous, lateral nerves ?7–8 pairs, invisible above, indistinct beneath, green and occasionally minutely purple-flecked above, glaucous, often suffused purplish beneath, sometimes with reddish margins.. Stipules linear-setaceous to filiform, ± 1 mm. long, ± entire, cream with a pinkish median line.. Male flowers paired to fasciculate in the axils of the lower 1/3–1/2 of the flowering shoots, ♀ pendulous and solitary in those of the upper 1/2– 2/3.. Male flowers: pedicels capillary, 1 mm. long; sepals 5, suborbicular-ovate, 0.6–0.7 mm. long, subacute or obtuse, cream with a pink central stripe; disc-glands 5, free, minute, ± rounded, flat, smooth; stamens 2(–3), filaments connate into a column 0.2 mm. high, anthers free, transversely ovate, bilobate, horizontally held, minute, laterally dehiscent, yellow.. Female flowers: pedicels 0.5 mm. long, extending to 1.5 mm. in fruit, slightly dilated apically; sepals 5, elliptic-lanceolate or elliptic-oblong, 1.7–2 mm. long, acute, minutely but distinctly serrulate, pale green with white margins; disc ± annular to shallowly 5-lobed, flat, thin; ovary subsessile, trilobate-subglobose, 0.8 mm. diameter, smooth, pink; styles ± free, 0.2–0.3 mm. long, spreading, bifid, stigmas slender, somewhat recurved, cream.. Fruit depressed-trilobate-subglobose, 1.3 mm. long, 2 mm. diameter, ± smooth, ochreous, tinged purplish.. Seeds triquetrous, 0.9 mm. long, 0.6 mm. wide, yellowish or greyish brown, with ± 9 faint longitudinal lines on the dorsal facet, and ± 7 indistinct concentric arcs on each ventral facet, with numerous more strongly marked often dark brown transverse striae between the lines and arcs.
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Female flowers: pedicels 0.5 mm long, extending to 1.5 mm in fruit; sepals 5, 1.2–1.3 × 0.5–0.7 mm, accrescent to 2 × 1 mm in fruit, elliptic-oblong, subacute, minutely serrulate, white with a reddish midrib; disk 0.6 mm in diameter, annular to shallowly 5-lobed, undulate, thin; ovary 0.3 mm in diameter, sessile, 6-lobed, ± smooth, pinkish; styles 3, c. 0.2 mm long, ± free, divergent, bifid, stigmas recurved.
Male flowers: pedicels 0.3–0.5 mm long, capillary; sepals 5, 0.5–0.6 × 0.5 mm, suborbicular, minutely apiculate, cream-coloured with a pink midrib; disk glands 5, free, minute, rounded, ± flat, smooth; stamens 2(3), filaments connate into a column 0.2 mm high, anthers 0.2 mm across, free, rounded, horizontally held, laterally dehiscent.
Leaf blades 0.5–1.5 × 0.1–0.2 cm, linear-lanceolate to narrowly elliptic-lanceolate, acute or subacute, cuneate or attenuate, membranaceous, green above, glaucous and often pinkish-tinged beneath with reddish margins; lateral nerves in 2–4 pairs, upwardly directed, invisible above, scarcely visible beneath.
Seeds 1 × 0.8 × 0.7 mm, segmentiform, pale yellowish-brown to dark grey-brown, with 9–10 faint longitudinal ridges on the dorsal facet, and c. 7 scarcely visible concentric lines on each ventral facet, with numerous more strongly marked transverse lines or ridges between them.
Foliage leaves distichous; petioles 0.5–0.6 mm long; stipules c. 1 mm long, linear-setaceous, subentire, cream-coloured with a pinkish midrib.
Scale leaves 1 mm long, linear-subulate, soon darkening, sometimes replaced by foliage leaves; stipules 0.6 mm long, triangular.
Male flowers in few-flowered cymules in the proximal axils of the lateral shoots, female flowers solitary in the distal axils.
Fruit 1.2 × 2 mm, oblate, very shallowly papillose in the upper half, otherwise ± smooth, greenish-brown.
A glabrous erect annual herb up to 20 cm tall, often reddish-or pinkish-tinged, monoecious.
Lead shoots terete; lateral shoots up to 9 cm long, commonly much less.
Life form annual
Growth form herb
Growth support -
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality monoecy
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 0.1 - 0.2
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

Phyllanthus parvus world distribution map, present in Angola, Tanzania, United Republic of, and Zambia

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:354428-1
WFO ID wfo-0000271753
COL ID 6VF2Q
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Phyllanthus parvus