Primulaceae
Embelia

Embelia schimperi Vatke

First published in Linnaea 40: 206 (1876)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Tropical Africa to Caprivi Strip. It is a scrambling shrub or tree and grows primarily in the wet tropical biome.

Descriptions

Myrsinaceae, F. K. Kupicha. Flora Zambesiaca 7:1. 1983

Morphology General Habit
Scandent shrub or liane climbing to 6 m. by means of hard persistent lateral short shoots, with long trailing branches up to 5 cm. or more in diameter; young stems glabrous; bark greyish or blackish, that of twigs longitudinally furrowed, with prominent lenticels.
Note
Plants dioecious or more rarely flowers hermaphrodite.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves 2·5–10 x 1·5–6 cm., elliptic, obovate or suborbicular, apiculate, acute, obtuse or emarginate at apex, almost truncate to tapering at base, entire, clustered at ends of branches; petiole 0·5–1 cm. long; lamina glossy, pale to dark green, thinly fleshy to coriaceous, inconspicuously to prominently nerved, with or without obvious black resin–dots (these punctate or shortly linear), glabrous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Racemes 2·5–3 cm. long, 15–35–flowered, cylindrical, borne on lateral short shoots on old wood proximal to current year’s leaves, densely pubescent with short gland–tipped hairs; pedicels 3–6 mm. long, each subtended by a triangular bract c. 1 mm. long, with triangular to ovate lobes c. 2 x length of tube, glandular–pubescent, often with a few black resin–dots on abaxial side; petals free, 2·6–3·2 mm. long, oblong to narrowly ovate, white, cream–coloured, greenish or yellowish, sparsely to densely glandular–pubescent especially on margin and inner surface, often with black resin–dots on abaxial side.
sex Male
Male flower: stamens functional; anthers 1–1·2 mm. long, oblong, yellow, with black dot on outer side near point of attachment; filament adnate to petal for a variable distance (up to middle of petal), elongating during anthesis so that the anther is eventually well exserted from flower; gynoecium 0·8– 1·2 mm. long, rudimentary.
sex Female
Female flower: stamens as in male flower but anthers triangular, functionless and filaments scarcely elongating; gynoecium 3–3·2 mm. long, clavate, the stigma conspicuously lobed.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Hermaphrodite flower with stamens as in male flower and ovary as in female flower. Female flower: stamens as in male flower but anthers triangular, functionless and filaments scarcely elongating; gynoecium 3–3·2 mm. long, clavate, the stigma conspicuously lobed. Male flower: stamens functional; anthers 1–1·2 mm. long, oblong, yellow, with black dot on outer side near point of attachment; filament adnate to petal for a variable distance (up to middle of petal), elongating during anthesis so that the anther is eventually well exserted from flower; gynoecium 0·8– 1·2 mm. long, rudimentary.
sex Hermaphrodite
Hermaphrodite flower with stamens as in male flower and ovary as in female flower.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit c. 5 mm. in diameter, globose or compressed–globose, 1–seeded, greenish at first becoming scarlet when ripe.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seed globose with basal cavity.
[FZ]

Myrsinaceae, F. N. Hepper. Flora of West Tropical Africa 2. 1963

Morphology General Habit
Straggling shrub or climber
Morphology Leaves
Smooth leathery leaves tufted towards ends of the branches
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers whitish
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruits red
Ecology
In upland thickets.
[FWTA]

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/135815278/175228304

Conservation
LC - least concern
[IUCN]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Myrsinaceae, P. Halliday. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1984

Morphology General Habit
Scandent shrub or much-branched tree to 12m., with prominent lenticels; bark striate, fibrous, stripping off from the older wood; young growth ferruginous hairy, soon glabrous.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves glossy and red-tinged above, silvery below, alternate, spaced along the branches or in clusters at the ends of the branches; young foliage sometimes glandular hairy, soon glabrous; leaf-blades obovate-oblong, sometimes lanceolate or oblanceolate, 5-12.4 cm. long, 1.8-5.9 cm. wide, obtuse, acute or acuminate, usually cuneate or somewhat decurrent on the petiole, occasionally±rounded at base, entire, margins slightly revolute, chartaceous or coriaceous, with visible gland dots and streaks; midrib grooved above, with 12-20 or more closely parallel nerves on either side, glabrous; petiole red, grooved above, 4-20 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence a dense axillary raceme, 1.2-5.1 cm. long, arising from a densely bracteate shoot 2-3 mm. long, often on bare branches below the leaves, sparsely ferruginous hairy, each raceme bearing 8-34 flowers.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers pedicellate, 4-5-merous, up to 6.5 mm. in diameter, greenish white to yellowish cream; pedicels±3 mm. long, ferruginous hairy.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx cup-shaped, 1.5-3.5 mm. in diameter, united to halfway; lobes ovate, spreading, speckled or not, with minutely ciliate margins, glabrous or sparsely ferruginous hairy.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals free, speckled, spreading to somewhat reflexed, oblong to ovate,±3 mm. long, 1.75 mm. wide, minutely pubescent on inner surface.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens adnate to lower part of petal, up to 4.5 mm. long, with slender filaments; anthers creamy white, ovate, apiculate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil
Ovary globose or ovoid; style cylindrical, 2-2.5 mm. long in female flower, shorter in male flower; stigma truncate or 2-3-lobed.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruits green (? immature), reddish green to red, speckled, globose, 5-8 mm. in diameter, with persistent calyx and style, glabrous, 1-seeded.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seed globose, smooth, intruded at base, brown with irregular orange markings (in herbarium material).
Habitat
Rain-forest and forest edge, upland evergreen bushland; (400-) 1000-3200 m.
Distribution
K4 K5 K6 T1 T2 T3 T5 T6 T7 U2 U4
[FTEA]

Myrsinaceae, F. N. Hepper. Flora of West Tropical Africa 2. 1963

Morphology General Habit
A climbing shrub
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Short rather crowded racemes on the older parts of the branchlets
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers white.
[FWTA]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of West Tropical Africa

    • Flora of West Tropical Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • IUCN Categories

    • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • World Checklist of Vascular plants (WCVP)

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0