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Synonyms:
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Agathisanthemum angolense Bremek. Agathisanthemum bojeri Klotzsch subsp. australe Bremek. Oldenlandia bojeri (Klotzsch) Hiern
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| Common names:
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| Frequency:
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Frequent |
| Status:
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Native |
Description:
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Branched, shrubby perennial herb, 25-150 cm tall. Young stems densely velvety, becoming hairless when older, often with brownish bark peeling off. Leaves opposite but often appearing whorled due to short, undeveloped shoots at most nodes, subsessile, narrowly lanceolate-elliptic to ovate-oblong, 1.2-6 cm long, hairless or slightly rough above, velvety on the veins beneath. Stipules finely velvety, sheath-like, up to 4.5 mm long with up to 5 fimbriae, 1-6 mm long. Inflorescences in more or less lax branched terminal heads, although individual clusters within the inflorescence may be quite dense. Flowers distinctly heterostylous. Calyx lobes 1-3.5 mm long. Corolla white, creamy or greenish-white 2.5-5 mm long. Style 1-2 mm long in short-styled flowers, 3-5 mm long in long-styled flowers. Capsule 1-3 mm long. |
| Notes:
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We created an aggregate as 2 subspecies exist in most of Southern Africa, which are only separable with great difficulty. Since only subsp. bojeri is said to occur in Mozambique, one could assign all records to this subspecies but certain reservation should probably be applied when specimens are found at higher altitudes and much further inland. The following may help to distinguish the two (Verdcourt, 1989 in FZ 5-1: 108-110):
- subsp. bojeri, with laxer inflorescence, calyx lobes less than 2 mm long and leaf veins well spaced along the blade;
- subsp. angolense (Bremek.) Verdc. has more dense clusters in the inflorescence, calyx lobes 2-3.5 mm long and leaf veins mostly basal.
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| Derivation of specific name:
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| Habitat:
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Various types of woodland, grassland, riverine forest and as a weed in old cultivated fields, often on sandy soils. |
| Altitude range: |
Up to 1500 m |
| Flowering time:
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| Worldwide distribution:
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Angola, DRC, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, South Africa, Comoro Islands and Madagascar. |
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Mozambique distribution:
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N,Z,MS,GI,M |
| Growth form:
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| Endemic status:
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| Red data list status:
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| Insects (whose larvae eat this species):
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| Spot characters:
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Display spot characters for this species |
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Content last updated: |
Monday 3 October 2011 |
| Literature:
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