Tabernaemontana stapfiana
Selected images: Click on each image to see a larger version and details of the record View all images (15)
Photo: Bart Wursten
Forested slopes below Nhandore peak, Mt Gorongosa
Photo: Stefaan Dondeyne
Gwasha below Mt Binga, Chimanimani Mts
Photo: Bart Wursten
Large forest gwasha, below ridge East of Mosquito Camp plateau, Chimanimani National Park
Photo: Bart Wursten
Large forest gwasha, below ridge East of Mosquito Camp plateau, Chimanimani National Park
Photo: Bart Wursten
Large forest gwasha, below ridge East of Mosquito Camp plateau, Chimanimani National Park
Photo: Bart Wursten
Large forest gwasha, below ridge East of Mosquito Camp plateau, Chimanimani National Park
Photo: Bart Wursten
Large forest gwasha, below ridge East of Mosquito Camp plateau, Chimanimani National Park
Photo: Bart Wursten
Large forest gwasha, below ridge East of Mosquito Camp plateau, Chimanimani National Park
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Species details: Click on each item to see an explanation of that item (Note: opens a new window)
| Synonyms: |
Conopharyngia stapfiana (Britten) Stapf Tabernaemontana angolensis Stapf |
| Common names: | Soccerball fruit (English) |
| Frequency: | |
| Status: | Native |
| Description: |
A medium-sized tree. Leaves oblong-elliptic, 12-40 cm, dark green above, paler below, leathery, hairless with 12-24 pairs of evenly spaced lateral veins; margin entire, somewhat rolled under. Flowers in terminal heads, showy, c. 4 cm in diameter, white with a yellow throat. Fruit in pairs, joined at the base, very large, each up to 20 cm in diameter, fleshy grey-green with paler spots. |
| Type location: |
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| Notes: | |
| Derivation of specific name: | stapfiana: after Dr. Otto Stapf (1857-1933), Austrian-born British botanist, taxonomist and author of many plant taxa. He was Curator at the Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Fellow of the Linnean Society and the Royal Society. |
| Habitat: | Montane evergreen forests |
| Altitude range: (metres) | 700 - 2000 m |
| Flowering time: | Dec - Jan |
| Worldwide distribution: | East Africa south to Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique |
| FZ divisions: | N,Z,MS |
| Growth form(s): | Tree. |
| Endemic status: | |
| Red data list status: | |
| Insects associated with this species: | |
| Spot characters: | Display spot characters for this species |
| Literature: |
Burrows, J.E. & Willis, C.K. (eds) (2005). Plants of the Nyika Plateau Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 31 SABONET, Pretoria Page 75. (Includes a picture). Burrows, J.E., Burrows, S.M., Lötter, M.C. & Schmidt, E. (2018). Trees and Shrubs Mozambique Publishing Print Matters (Pty), Cape Town. Page 802. (Includes a picture). Da Silva, M.C., Izidine, S. & Amude, A.B. (2004). A preliminary checklist of the vascular plants of Mozambique. Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 30 Sabonet, Pretoria Page 27. Dowsett-Lemaire, F. (1989). The flora and phytogeography of the evergreen forests of Malawi. I: Afromontane and mid-altitude forests; Bull. Jard. Bot. Nat. Belg. 59(1/2) Page 21. Drummond, R.B. (1975). A list of trees, shrubs and woody climbers indigenous or naturalised in Rhodesia. Kirkia 10(1) Page 269. As Tabernaemontana angolensis Fisher E. & Killmann D. (2008). Illustrated Field guide to the Plants of Nyungwe National Park Rwanda. University of Koblenz-Landau. Pages 148 - 149. (Includes a picture). Leeuwenberg, A.J.M. & Kupicha, F.K. et al. (1985). Apocynaceae Flora Zambesiaca 7(2) Pages 442 - 443. Mapaura, A. & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 19. Ntore, S. & al. (2024). Checklist of the vascular plants of Burundi Page 53. Steedman, E.C. (1933). Some Trees, Shrubs and Lianes of Southern Rhodesia. Page 69. As Conopharyngia stapfiana Strugnell, A.M. (2006). A Checklist of the Spermatophytes of Mount Mulanje, Malawi Scripta Botanica Belgica 34 National Botanic Garden of Belgium Page 45. Timberlake, J.R., Bayliss, J., Dowsett-Lemaire, F., Congdon, C., Branch, B., Collins, S., Curran, M., Dowsett, R,J., Fishpool, L., Francisco, J., Harris, Kopp, M. & de Sousa, C. (2012). Mt Mabu, Mozambique: Biodiversity and Conservation Report produced under the Darwin Initiative Award 15/036. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London Page 72. Wursten, B., Timberlake, J. & Darbyshire, I. (2017). The Chimanimani Mountains: an updated checklist. Kirkia 19(1) Page 88. |
Other sources of information about Tabernaemontana stapfiana:
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Flora of Burundi: Tabernaemontana stapfianaFlora of Malawi: Tabernaemontana stapfiana
Flora of Rwanda: Tabernaemontana stapfiana
Flora of Zimbabwe: Tabernaemontana stapfiana
External websites:
African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Tabernaemontana stapfianaAfrican Plant Database: Tabernaemontana stapfiana
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Tabernaemontana stapfiana
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Tabernaemontana stapfiana
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Tabernaemontana stapfiana
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iNaturalist: Tabernaemontana stapfiana
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Tabernaemontana stapfiana
JSTOR Plant Science: Tabernaemontana stapfiana
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Tabernaemontana stapfiana
Plants of the World Online: Tabernaemontana stapfiana
Tropicos: Tabernaemontana stapfiana
Wikipedia: Tabernaemontana stapfiana