Leaves opposite, subsessile, spaced, usually lanceolate, entire
Flowers few, congested at ends of stems or branches
Calyx 4-lobed; tube membranous, campanulate; lobes shorter than tube, ovate, obtuse, with few long setae
Petals 4, arising in mouth of calyx tube, obovate, scarcely clawed, with few setae at tip
Stamens 8, equal, arising in mouth of calyx tube, about as long as petals; dorsifixed; pedoconnective (prolongation of connective below anther thecae) strictly without heel or 'talon,' outgrowth often reduced but always present, bilobed or bipartite; anthers 1-thecous, opening by a terminal pore
Ovary inferior, 4-locular, with many ovules in each locule, with a crown of setae at apex; style thick, terete, slightly longer than stamens; stigma subcapitate
FERNANDES, R. & FERNANDES, A. 1978. Melastomataceae. Flora zambesiaca 4
HOOKER, J.D. 1867. Melastomataceae. In G. Bentham & W.J. Hooker, Genera plantarum. Reeve, London
JACQUES-FÉLIX, H. 1995. Histoire des Melastomataceae d'Afrique. Bulletin du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. Paris 16,4, section B Adansonia 2-4
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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.
