A much-branched shrub or small tree, densely leafy and silky-villous
Leaves alternate, green or grey, aromatic, petiolate, imparipinnate; leaflets in 3 or 4 pairs, with minute leaflets between, incised, toothed, sessile; stipules adnate to petiole
Inflorescence a densely aggregated, terminal spike, with shortly pedunculate flowers
Flowers bisexual
Calyx: tube obconic, villous, ± constricted in throat, persistent; lobes 10-12 in 2 rows, valvate, outer ovate, inner linear-lanceolate, longer than outer
Petals 5 (or 6), ± obovate, deciduous, yellowish green or yellow
Disc lining calyx tube annular and nearly closing mouth of calyx tube, villous at mouth
Stamens 10-12, inserted on disc; anthers didymous, almost versatile
Gynoecium of 2-4 free carpels; ovules solitary in each carpel, pendulous; styles terete, exserted; stigmas lateral, channelled, hooked
Fruit: membranous achenes enclosed in receptacle
Nomenclature:
Leucosidea Eckl. & Zeyh.
Ecklon & Zeyher: 265 (1836)
Endlicher: 1244 (1840)
Harvey: 289 (1862)
Hooker: 622 (1865)
Killick: t. 1566 (1969)
Mendes: 22 (1978)
Coates Palgrave: 208 (1981)
Pooley: 116 (1993)
Van Wyk & Van Wyk: 440 (1997)
Distribution & Notes:
Global: Monotypic: Leucosidea sericea Eckl. & Zeyh. (Oldwood or Ouhout), southern Africa and Zimbabwe
Southern Africa: Northern Province, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho and Eastern Cape; usually confined to stream banks and kloofs at high altitudes, sometimes invades overgrazed and disturbed areas
References:
COATES PALGRAVE, K. 1981. Trees of southern Africa, 2nd impression. Struik Publishers, Cape Town
ECKLON, C.F. & ZEYHER, K.L.P. 1836. Rosaceae Juss. Enumeratio plantarum africae australis extratropicae 2. Published by the authors, Hamburg
ENDLICHER, S.L. 1840. Pomaceae-Rosaceae. Order AMYGDALEAE. Genera plantarum secundum ordines naturales disposita 2. Beck, Vienna
HARVEY, W.H. 1862. Rosaceae. Flora capensis 2
HOOKER, J.D. 1865. Rosaceae. In G. Bentham & J. D. Hooker, Genera plantarum 1. Lovell Reeve & Co., London
KILLICK, D.J.B. 1969. Leucosidea sericea. Flowering Plants of Africa 40
MENDES, E.J. 1978. Rosaceae. Flora zambesiaca 4
POOLEY, E. 1993. The complete field guide to trees of Natal, Zululand and Transkei. Natal Flora Publications Trust, Durban
VAN WYK, B. [A.E.] & VAN WYK, P. 1997. Field guide to trees of southern Africa. Struik Publishers, Cape Town
Copyright of the content hosted by this website remains with the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), unless stated otherwise. Material from this site may be used in other media, provided that SANBI is acknowledged by the name South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) or refer to the 'How to cite this resource' paragraph on the Home page. Liability disclaimer: Visitors use this site at their own risk and SANBI is not liable for any of the consequences resulting therefrom.
Welcome to Biodiversity Advisor 2.0!
Biodiversity Advisor, developed by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and its Data Partners, is a system that will provide integrated biodiversity information to a wide range of users who will have access to geospatial data, plant and animal species distribution data, ecosystem-level data, literature, images and metadata.
The integrated information comes from our much-loved Botanical Database of Southern Africa (BODATSA) also known as Plants of Southern Africa (POSA), Zoological Database of Southern Africa (ZODATSA), Biodiversity Geographic Information System (BGIS), SANBI's institutional repository (Opus) and others.
The system is still under development, so you may find a few bugs/issues. If you do, please report it via the error reporting button available in various sections of the website or provide us with any useful feedback you may have via the ‘Give us feedback’ option available in the sidebar menu. You can create a free account for yourself by clicking on the user profile icon which will take you through to the login page. Here you can choose the ‘Create an account’ option or simply fill in your details if you have an account already. Having an account on Biodiversity Advisor will provide users with free access to biodiversity resources.
In future, Team SANBI will be able to log in using their day-to-day login details, BGIS users will be able to use their existing accounts and details, and general users will be able to log in using their LinkedIn profile, but for now you will need to create an account.
