3112.000 Maerua Forssk.

Description of the genus

Shrublets, shrubs, trees or climbers. Spines 0 but lateral branches may be sharp at the tip. Leaves alternate or crowded on short side shoots, simple or 3(-5)-foliolate. Flowers bisexual. Receptacle cylindric or funnel-shaped, often produced into a disk. Sepals (3-)4. Petals 0 or (3-)4(-8). Androgynophore shorter than the sepals. Gynophore elongated. Fruit spherical, ovoid, ellipsoid, oblong-ellipsoid or cylindric, sometimes beaded.

Worldwide: 50 species in tropical and South Africa, extending to India

Mozambique: 20 taxa.

The larvae of the following species of insect eat species of this genus:
Belenois aurota (Brown-veined white)
Belenois thysa (False dotted border)
Colotis evippe (Smoky orange tip)
Colotis ione (Bushveld purple tip)
Eronia leda (Autumn-leaf vagrant, Oranges-and-lemons)
Maerua angolensis

Links to taxa:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesFZ divisionsContent
acuminata Oliv.[NrEnd][DD]N
aethiopica (Fenzl) Oliv.Description, Image
andradae Wild[End][LR-lc]N
angolensis DC.N,Z,T,MS,GI,MDescription, Image
brunnescens Wild[End][DD]Z,T,MS,GI,MDescription, Image
bussei (Gilg & Gilg-Ben.) Wilczek
cafra (DC.) PaxDescription
cerasicarpa GilgN
edulis (Gilg & Gilg-Ben.) DeWolfN,T,MS,GI,MDescription, Image
grantii Oliv.N
juncea Pax[Agg]N,T,MS,GI
juncea Pax subsp. crustata (Wild) WildN,T,MS,GIDescription, Image
juncea Pax subsp. juncea N,T,MS,GIDescription, Image
kirkii (Oliv.) F. WhiteN,MS,GIDescription, Image
nervosa (Hochst.) Oliv.GI,MDescription, Image
parvifolia PaxT,MS,GI,MDescription, Image
rosmarinoides (Sond.) Gilg & Gilg-Ben.M
scandens (Klotzsch) Gilg[End]Z,GI
schliebenii Gilg & Gilg-Ben.[NrEnd]N
triphylla A. Rich. subsp. pubescens (Klotzsch) DeWolfN,Z,T,GIDescription, Image

Other sources of information about Maerua:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Maerua
Flora of Caprivi: Maerua
Flora of Caprivi: cultivated Maerua
Flora of Malawi: Maerua
Flora of Zambia: Maerua
Flora of Zimbabwe: Maerua

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Maerua
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Maerua
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Maerua
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Maerua
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Maerua
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Maerua
JSTOR Plant Science: Maerua
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Maerua
Plants of the World Online: Maerua
Tropicos: Maerua
Wikipedia: Maerua

Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave 2007-24

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2024). Flora of Mozambique: Genus page: Maerua.
https://www.mozambiqueflora.com/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=633, retrieved 19 March 2024

Site software last modified: 12 October 2020 11:11pm
Terms of use