Rauvolfia mombasiana Stapf

Species

Angiosperms > Gentianales > Apocynaceae > Rauvolfia

Characteristics

Shrub or small tree, 0.5–9 m high; trunk 1–10 cm in diameter; bark grey, smooth or rough, lenticellate.. Leaves in whorls of 3–6, opposite on some nodes; blade obovate to elliptic or narrowly elliptic, 2.5–25 cm long, 1–7 cm wide, acute to shortly acuminate at the apex, cuneate or attenuate at the base, glabrous, with 8–25 pairs of secondary veins.. Inflorescence in whorls of 1–3 many-flowered cymes, glabrous in all parts; peduncle 2–15.5 cm long; pedicels 3–8 mm long.. Flowers with sepals ovate, 0.6–1.5 mm long, 0.8–1.2 mm wide, acute at the apex, glabrous; corolla hypocrateriform; tube whitish yellow or greenish white, 4–7.6 mm long, sparsely pubescent at the mouth; lobes white, yellowish or greenish white, dolabriform, 0.9–1.6 mm long, 1–2 mm wide, glabrous; stamens inserted at 3–6.8 mm from the base of the corolla tube; disk 0.4–1 mm high, cupular; pistil 2.6–6.1 mm long; style 2–4.6 mm long; ovary obovoid, of 2 free carpels; pistil head cylindrical, 0.4–1 mm long; stigmoid apex 0.1 mm.. Fruit orange to red, apocarpous, with 1 or 2 mericarps developing; mericarps ellipsoid, 5–10 mm long, 4–8 mm in diameter; seeds 3–8 mm long.
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Corolla hypocrateriform; tube white, yellowish-or greenish-white, 4–7·6 mm. long, inside pubescent from 2·8–5·8 mm. above the base (or almost) to the apex; lobes sometimes different from the tube in colour, white, yellowish-or greenish-white, 0·8–1·8 mm. long, ovate to obovate, glabrous.
Leaves petiolate; petiole 5–32 mm. long, glabrous; lamina 2·5–23·5 x 1–7 cm., narrowly obovate to narrowly elliptic, acute to subacuminate at the apex, cuneate at the base, subcoriaceous to coriaceous, glossy, glabrous, with 8–25 secondary veins on each side of the midrib.
Pistil 2·6-5·5 mm. long; carpels 1·1-1·7 mm. long, glabrous; disk ring-shaped, 0·4-1 mm. high, glabrous; style 2-4·6 mm. long, glabrous; clavuncula 0·6-1 mm. long, sometimes sparsely pubescent; stigma 0·1-0·2 mm. long, glabrous.
Stamens inserted 3-6·8 mm. above the base of the corolla-tube; filaments 0·2-0·7 mm. long; anthers 0·8-1·2 mm. long.
Fruits orange, yellowish-or reddish-orange; one or both carpels developing; carpels ellipsoid, 5-10 x 4-8 mm.
Bark grey-brown, smooth or rough, lenticellate.
Sepals 0·5–1·3 mm. long, triangular, glabrous.
Inflorescences many-flowered, fairly lax.
Peduncle 2·2–15·5 cm. long, glabrous.
Shrub or small tree, 0·50–9 m. high.
Pedicels 3–8 mm. long, glabrous.
Trunk up to 10 cm. in diam.
Seeds 3-8 x 2-6 x 2-5 mm.
Branches medium-green.
Life form perennial
Growth form tree
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention -
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 2.75 - 7.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color -
Blooming months -
Fruit color
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

Sandy or rocky places near the coast, on riverbanks, in light forest or in woodland, at elevations up to 100 metres.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

Uses medicinal
Edible -
Therapeutic use Ache(Stomach) (unspecified), Poison (unspecified), Poultice (unspecified), Skin (unspecified), Venereal (unspecified), Swelling (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by seedlings.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Distribution

Rauvolfia mombasiana world distribution map, present in Kenya, Mozambique, and Tanzania, United Republic of

Conservation status

Rauvolfia mombasiana threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:81591-1
WFO ID wfo-0000295103
COL ID 4RMDL
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Rauvolfia monopyrena Rauvolfia sambesiaca Rauvolfia mombasiana