4151.000 Commiphora Jacq.

Description of the genus

Dioecious (rarely monoecious) shrubs or trees, often spiny, outer bark often papery or peeling, inner bark greenish, often secreting aromatic resin. Flowers unisexual (rarely bisexual), usually appearing before or with the leaves. Calyx 4-lobed. Petals 4, free, spreading or recurved at apex. Stamens 8, vestigial in female flowers. Ovary 2(-3)-locular, style short, stigma capitate. Fruit containing a single stone, outer layer fleshy or leathery, splitting into 2 longitudinal valves to reveal the inner layer, attached to which is usually a pseudaril, which is often brightly coloured.

Worldwide: 190 species in warm Africa, Madagascar, Arabia to Sri Lanka, Mexico and South America

Malawi: 7 taxa.

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

SpeciesFZ divisionsContent
africana (A. Rich.) Engl.[Agg]SDescription, Image
caerulea BurttN,SDescription, Image
edulis (Klotzsch) Engl. subsp. edulis SDescription, Image
eminii Engl. subsp. zimmermannii (Engl.) J.B.Gillett C
mollis (Oliv.) Engl.N,C,SDescription, Image
mossambicensis (Oliv.) Engl.NDescription, Image
pedunculata (Kotschy & Peyr.) Engl. C

Other sources of information about Commiphora:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Commiphora
Flora of Caprivi: Commiphora
Flora of Caprivi: cultivated Commiphora
Flora of Mozambique: Commiphora
Flora of Zambia: Commiphora
Flora of Zimbabwe: Commiphora
Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Commiphora

External websites:

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

Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave, 2014-24

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2024). Flora of Malawi: Genus page: Commiphora.
https://www.malawiflora.com/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=811, retrieved 29 March 2024

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