5083.000 Sterculia L.

Description of the genus

Trees with leaves entire or lobed. Flowers borne on panicles appearing with the new foliage. Trees monoecious or dioecious. Flowers bisexual or unisexual. Calyx 4-5-lobed; petals 0. Male flowers with 10-20 anthers in a capitate cluster borne on a slender androphore. Ovary of female flowers with 4-5 coherent carpels; 2 to many ovules per carpel. Fruit a cluster of follicles, often woody.

Derivation of name: The genus is named for Sterculius, the Roman god for manure, the reason being the unpleasant smell of the flowers of some species, e.g. Sterculia foetida.

Worldwide: Throughout the tropics, with about 24 species in Africa.

Malawi: 3 taxa.

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

SpeciesFZ divisionsContent
africana (Lour.) FioriDescription, Image
appendiculata K. Schum.SDescription, Image
quinqueloba (Garcke) K. Schum.N,C,SDescription, Image

Other sources of information about Sterculia:

Our websites:

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

External websites:

ePIC (electronic Plant Information Center): Sterculia
Flora Zambesiaca web site: Sterculia
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
GRIN (Germplasm Resources Information Network) taxonomy for plants report for Sterculia
Wikipedia: Sterculia
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Sterculia
Kew Herbarium catalogue: Sterculia

Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave, 2014-23

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2023). Flora of Malawi: Genus page: Sterculia.
https://www.malawiflora.com/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=955, retrieved 24 March 2023

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