Euphorbia zambesiana
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Habit
Railway track
Nyama area, Kabwe Distr.
Jan 2022
Photo: Nick Wightman
Railway track
Nyama area, Kabwe Distr.
Jan 2022
Photo: Nick Wightman
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Species details: Click on each item to see an explanation of that item (Note: opens a new window)
| Synonyms: |
Chamaesyce zambesiana (Benth.) Koutnik Euphorbia poggei Pax Euphorbia zambesiana Benth. var. villosula (Pax) N.E.Brown |
| Common names: | |
| Frequency: | |
| Status: | Native |
| Description: |
Perennial herb growing from a woody twisted root c. 1 cm thick and c. 25 cm long and producing several woody underground stems to 3 cm long and branching profusely at ground level, plants glabrous or densely pilose; branches densely rebranching, leafy and prostrate, up to 35 cm long, floriferous and erect to c. 5 cm high, often tinged red; leaves with petiole 2 mm long, 35 x 9 mm, lanceolate to ovate, minutely apiculate at apex, obliquely subcordate at base, margins entire or minutely toothed; cyathia terminal and pseudoaxillary, solitary on peduncles 1-25 mm long, 2 x 2.5 mm with broadly cup-shaped involucres; glands 4 in bisexula cyathia, or sometimes 5 in male only flowers, c. 1 mm wide, transversely elliptic, red with conspicuous white or pink appendages to 1.5 x 2 mm, entire or shallowly 2-3 lobed; involucral lobes 0.8 mm long with ciliate margins; male flowers many, bracteoles deeply laciniate, apices ciliate, stamens 2 mm long; female flowers with pedicellate ovary, style 1 mm long, erect, bifid to halfway; capsule exerted on a reflexed pedicel c. 5.5 mm long, 3 x 3 mm, deeply 3-lobed; seeds 1.75 x 1.25 mm, ovate-conical, deeply pitted, reddish-buff. Var. zambesiana differs in plants entirely glabrous and with lanceolate to ovate leaves 35 x 9 mm; whereas, var. villosula has plants entirely densely pilose with long spreading hairs, or at least some hairs present on stems, leaves and capsules and ovate to ovate-lanceolate leaves 12 x 7 mm. |
| Type location: |
Malawi |
| Notes: | |
| Derivation of specific name: | zambesiana: of the Zambezi region |
| Habitat: | |
| Altitude range: (metres) | |
| Flowering time: | Apr - Sep |
| Worldwide distribution: | Angola and DRC through Zambia, Burundi and Rwanda to Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique |
| FZ divisions: | N,C,S |
| Growth form(s): | Perennial. |
| 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 146. (Includes a picture). Carter, S. & Leach, L.C. (2001). Euphorbiaceae: subfamily Euphorbioideae: tribe Euphorbieae Flora Zambesiaca 9(5) Pages 355 - 359. as var. zambesiana and var. villosula (Includes a picture). Ntore, S. & al. (2024). Checklist of the vascular plants of Burundi Page 109. Strugnell, A.M. (2006). A Checklist of the Spermatophytes of Mount Mulanje, Malawi Scripta Botanica Belgica 34 National Botanic Garden of Belgium Page 87. Troupin, G. (1983). Euphorbiaceae Flore du Rwanda Spermatophytes Volume II Page 226. |
Other sources of information about Euphorbia zambesiana:
Our websites:
Flora of Burundi: Euphorbia zambesianaFlora of Mozambique: Euphorbia zambesiana
Flora of Rwanda: Euphorbia zambesiana
Flora of Zambia: Euphorbia zambesiana
External websites:
African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Euphorbia zambesianaAfrican Plant Database: Euphorbia zambesiana
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Euphorbia zambesiana
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Euphorbia zambesiana
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Euphorbia zambesiana
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Euphorbia zambesiana
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Euphorbia zambesiana
JSTOR Plant Science: Euphorbia zambesiana
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Euphorbia zambesiana
Plants of the World Online: Euphorbia zambesiana
Tropicos: Euphorbia zambesiana
Wikipedia: Euphorbia zambesiana