Thorncroftia greenii

PLANTAE / PHANEROGAMAE / ANTHOPHYTA / LAMIALES / LAMIACEAE / NEPETOIDEAE / OCIMEAE / THORNCROFTIA / GREENII

Thorncroftia greenii Changwe & K.Balkwill

Indigenous Endemic

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Morphological description

Herb or shrub with brittle, semisucculent stems, 0.3-1.0 m tall. Stems leafy, erect, almost rounded, sparsely branched, arising from a thickened rootstock, ± 12 mm diam. At base, tapering to 3-4 mm diam. above, pubescent with very thin glandular hairs 75 ± 15 µm long spreading, thin, simple, unicellular and multicellular, uniseriate eglandular hairs. Leaves opposite; blade elliptic to obovate, (7-)10-18(-20) x 3-10 mm, cuneate at base, rounded at apex, entire or crenate with 4-10 teeth on margin, pubescent with thin capitate glandular hairs and simple, unicellular and multicellular, uniseriate eglandular hairs on both surfaces; petiole 5.0-6.5 mm long. Inflorescence sparse, main axis (100-)120-200(-260) mm long; bracts leaf-like, 4-6 x 1.5-2.5 mm below, becoming progressively smaller and narrower to ± 2.0-2.5 x 1.0-1.5 mm above. Flowers solitary in axil of each bract; pedicel 4-9 mm long, pubescent with glandular hairs and with simple and multicellular uniseriate eglandular hairs. Calyx 6-7(-8) mm long, commonly covered with very thin glandular hairs, eglandular hairs prominent; the longest teeth 2.0-2.5 mm long, short teeth ovate-lanceolate, 1.0-1.5 mm long, acuminate, decurrent on tube, lower four teeth subequal, lanceolate-triangular. Corolla pink with purple spots on lateral lobes, pubescent with glandular and eglandular hairs; tube narrowly cylindrical, (25-)28-30(-32) mm long; central lobe oblong, 5-7 mm long; lower lobe boat-shaped, 6-7 mm long. Stamens: filaments lilac, exserted from corolla mouth 6.0-7.5 mm; anthers purple. Style lilac, lobes purple. Fruit a nutlet. From: Balkwill, K; Changwe, K; Reddy, RA; Pike, B. 2009. Thorncroftia greenii K.Changwe & K.Balkwill. Fl. Pl. Africa 61: 112-117, t.2256 [CC BY]

Diagnostic description

There are four species of Thorncroftia: T. longiflora, T. media, T. succulenta and T. thorncroftii, known from Mpumalanga and Limpopo Provinces in South Africa and from Swaziland. Thorncroftia greenii always has entire leaves, whereas the leaves in the other species are usually crenate or obscurely so. T. greenii and T. longiflora have smaller leaves (maximum length 20 mm) as opposed to a minimum of 25 mm in all other species. While T. greenii is morphologically similar to T. longiflora, it shows differences in trichomes and corolla length. T. longiflora has coarse eglandular trichomes and almost inconspicuous capitate glandular hairs, whereas T. greenii has very thin (fine) eglandular hairs with conspicuous fine capitate glandular hairs. The corolla is shorter (28-32 mm) in T. greenii than in T. longiflora (35-48 mm). The species are allopatric, making identification easier. T. thorncroftii is easily distinguished from the other species in the genus by its small flowers (shorter than 180 mm) and prostrate, herbaceous habit. From: Balkwill, K; Changwe, K; Reddy, RA; Pike, B. 2009. Thorncroftia greenii K.Changwe & K.Balkwill. Fl. Pl. Africa 61: 112-117, t.2256 [CC BY]

Habitat

Thorncroftia greenii grows in the fissures and cracks of quartzite rock outcrops at altitudes between 1000 and 1160 m. From: Balkwill, K; Changwe, K; Reddy, RA; Pike, B. 2009. Thorncroftia greenii K.Changwe & K.Balkwill. Fl. Pl. Africa 61: 112-117, t.2256 [CC BY]

Distribution

Bivane (formerly Paris) Dam, KwaZulu-Natal. From: Balkwill, K; Changwe, K; Reddy, RA; Pike, B. 2009. Thorncroftia greenii K.Changwe & K.Balkwill. Fl. Pl. Africa 61: 112-117, t.2256 [CC BY]

Flowering time

March to April

Altitude

1000 to 1160 m

Occurrence records map

This map contains point-based occurrences at different locations

iNaturalist: BODATSA: Data partners records:

Residence status

Occurrence in the Flora of Southern Africa (FSA) countries and South African provinces. Residence status indicates if a taxon is indigenous, endemic, naturalised or invasive in a specific region. This data is based on specimen records and literature

FSA

BOT

NAM

ESW

LES

KZN

Absent

Indigenous

Endemic

Naturalised

Invasive

Names and Sources

Accepted name

Thorncroftia greenii Changwe & K.Balkwill

Published in: Fl. Pl. Africa 61: 112 (2009)

Type: South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, Ngotshe District, about 30 km west of Louwsburg on the road to Bivane Dam (formerly Paris Dam), Balkwill, Changwe & Green 12202 (J, holo.; K, PRE, iso.)

Synonym(s)

Classification

KINGDOM Plantae

SUBKINGDOM Phanerogamae

PHYLUM Anthophyta

ORDER Lamiales

FAMILY Lamiaceae

SUBFAMILY Nepetoideae

TRIBE Ocimeae

GENUS Thorncroftia

SPECIES greenii

10 results for Thorncroftia greenii Changwe & K.Balkwill