Monechma cleomoides
Click on each image to see a larger version and details of the record
Image 1
Shrub with flowers
26 May 2006
Image 2
Branch
28 Sep 2006
Image 3
Habit
28 Sep 2006
Image 4
Flower
15 Jun 2008
Image 5
Flower
18 Mar 2007
Image 6
Leaves
18 Mar 2007
| Family: | Acanthaceae |
| Full name: | Monechma cleomoides (S.Moore) C.B.Clarke |
| ID status: | Fairly certain |
| Afrikaans common name(s): | Namib perdebos |
| English common name(s): | - |
| Synonym(s): | Justicia arenicola Engl. Justicia cleomoides S.Moore Justicia steingroeveri Schinz ex Lindau fide Fl. Trop. Africa 5: 218 Monechma arenicola (Engl.) C.B.Clarke |
| Status: | Near-endemic |
| Description: | A viscous pubescent undershrub; branches 6–10 in. long, internodes mostly 0.167– 0.333 in. long; leaves up to 1 by 0.25– 0.333 in., lanceolate, acute, subsessile, with long white hairs; flowers solitary, few, approximate towards the ends of the branchlets; bracteoles 2, scarcely 0.25 in. long, linear; calyx 0.25 in. long, 4-partite nearly to the base; lobes linear; corolla 0.5 in. long; one anther-cell lower than the other, tailed, pollen ellipsoid, with 2 stopples, tubercles minute in 2 rows on each side of each stopple; capsule 0.333 in. long, pubescent, 2-seeded; seeds smooth, blotched. (from JSTOR website / Flora Capensis) Woody, viscous glandular hairy. Leaves 0.75 x 0.333 in., spathulate-elliptic, obtuse; petiole 0– 0.25 in. long. Flowers solitary; pedicels axillary, 0.05– 0.2 in. long. Sepals 5, 0.333 in. long, and upwards, linear. Corolla exceeding 0.75 in. long. Lower anther-cell (rather strongly) tailed; pollen ellipsoid, with 2 stopples, and one row of small tubercles on either side of each stopple. Ovary pubescent at the top; style-base hairy. Capsule 0.5 in. long, 2-seeded, hairy, stalked. (from JSTOR website / Flora of Tropical Africa) Shrub, dwarf shrub or suffrutex, 0.3-0.6 m high, compact, often dome-shaped and wider than high. Branches hairy or glabrescent, indumentum variable but mostly a double layer of short hairs and glands with second layer of longer, shining hairs. Leaves sessile or petiolate, variably hairy with single or double layer of hairs, shape variable, from spathulate, elliptic or lanceolate to occasionally linear-lanceolate, up to 47 mm long but usually less, midrib prominent; petiole up to 16 mm long. Flowers solitary, subsessile or pedicellate. Bracteoles densely hairy, 6-8 mm long, acute. Calyx hairy, lobes up to 9 mm long, lengthening slightly in fruit. Corolla 16-20 mm long, blue, blue-and-white or mauve. Capsule 10-13 mm long. Seeds round or oval, 3 x 2.5-3.0 mm, pale grey with black blotches. (from JSTOR website / Flora of Southern Africa) Monechma cleomoides is a shrub of 30-60 cm. The leaves are oblong, covered with hair, measuring up to 5 cm long. The flowers are solitary, light blue or light purple, the corolla is long and 15-20 mm. (from www.planetefleurs.fr, translated from French by Google Translate) |
| Link(s) |
African Plant Database
JSTOR Plant Science Kew Herbarium Catalogue BGBM Berlin-Dahlem - Virtual Herbarium Züricher Herbarien Flora of Zimbabwe Fleurs de notre Terre - Galerie Namibie |
| Content last updated: | 22 Nov 2011 |
