Psychotria capensis | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Gentianales |
Family: | Rubiaceae |
Genus: | Psychotria |
Species: | P. capensis |
Binomial name | |
Psychotria capensis | |
Psychotria capensis, the bird-berry, is a southern African evergreen shrub or small tree. It belongs to a genus which is used medicinally in many regions, 'Psychotria' being from the Greek for 'rejuvenating', in reference to the healing properties of certain species. Kew lists some 2,000 species of Psychotria growing throughout the warmer regions of both hemispheres, but only two of them occur in southern Africa, namely P. capensis and P. zombamontana . [1] [2] [3]
It occurs along the South African south and east coasts, from Knysna through the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. It is also present in eastern Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces and northwards in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. It is found from sea level to 1,500 m in evergreen forests, along forest margins, dune scrub, along river courses and on rocky outcrops in high rainfall grassland.
It grows to some 3 to 8 meters tall, and has a slender trunk, with horizontal branches and pale brown bark. The elliptic to obovate leaves are large (70-150 x 15-60 mm), leathery, glabrous, dark green above and paler below. They are opposite and often drooping. Yellow flowers are produced in terminal branched heads some 80 mm across from August to January, and are followed by bunches of pea-sized, shiny yellow fruits turning red or black when ripe. The wood is hard and fine-grained, yellowish-brown in colour.
Usually a shrub, sometimes a tree up to 10-15 feet height, with 3-6 inch stem diam., and with crooked and forked timber. Leaves evergreen, shining above, paler below, widely lanceolate, elliptic or obovate-oblong, 3-6 inches long, 1/2 - 1 1/2 inches wide, shortly petioled, distinctly veined, rounded at the apex or bluntly pointed, glabrous above, and either glabrous or pubescent below. Panicles few or many-flowered, terminal, trichotomously forked, 1-4 inches across. Calyx-tube short, minutely 5-toothed. Corolla yellow, shortly tubular, with 5-parted limb and a hairy throat. Stamens in the throat of the corolla tube, with shortly oblong anthers. Pistil bifid. Berries numerous, reddish, 3 lines diameter, with only a scar where the calyx has been. Stipules shortly ovate from a broad base, bluntly pointed. John Medley Wood points out that the flowers are dimorphic, the two forms appearing on different plants, in the long-styled form the stamens are sub-exserted and the style exserted, and in the long-stamened form the stamens are exserted and the style included.
Viburnum lentago, the nannyberry, sheepberry, or sweet viburnum, is a species of Viburnum native to North America.
Nashia inaguensis is an evergreen shrub, commonly referred to as Moujean tea, Bahamas berry, or pineapple verbena. It is native to the east Caribbean islands, in particular the island of Inagua in the Bahamas, after which the species is named. In its native environment, the plant crawls along sunny, rocky outcroppings, semi-protected from steady high winds.
Salvia mellifera is a small, highly aromatic, evergreen shrub of the genus Salvia native to California, and Baja California, Mexico. It is common in the coastal sage scrub of Southern California and northern Baja California. Black sage has a dark appearance, especially during drought.
Pachypodium ambongense is a species of plant in the family Apocynaceae. It was first published as a species of the genus Pachypodium in 1924 by the botanist Henri Louis Poisson.
Pachypodium baronii, the Madagascar palm or bontaka, is a flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae. It has the habit of a robust shrub with a spherical or bottle-shaped trunk. It has several cylindrical branches at the top.
Pachypodium bicolor is a species of plant in the family Apocynaceae.
Pachypodium brevicaule is a species of plant that belongs to the family Apocynaceae.
Rhaphiolepis indica, the Indian hawthorn, India hawthorn or Hong Kong hawthorn is an evergreen shrub in the family Rosaceae.
Cestrum diurnum is a species of Cestrum, native to the West Indies. Common names include day-blooming cestrum, day-blooming jessamine, and day-blooming jasmine. Also known as Din ka Raja, in Urdu and Hindi. The scent of this quick-growing and evergreen woody shrub, often used for screens and borders, is released by day. Cestrum diurnum is easily propagated from the seed, which it produces in abundance.
Ravensara is a genus of trees and shrubs of the family Lauraceae and endemic to the island of Madagascar and the Comoro Islands. The bark, leaves and fruit of the various species are rich in aromatic essential oils. In a recent generic classification of Lauraceae based on DNA sequence data by Chanderbali et al. in 2001, it was found to be part of a strongly supported clade that also includes Beilschmiedia, Potameia, Cryptocarya, Endiandra and Aspidostemon.
Brunfelsia latifolia, commonly known as yesterday-today-tomorrow and kiss me quick, is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family. Endemic to Brazil, it is an evergreen shrub that becomes semi-deciduous in cooler areas and grows up to 1.8 meters in height.
Premna serratifolia is a small tree/shrub in the family Lamiaceae. It flowers and fruits between May and November. During flowering season, it attracts a large number of butterflies and bees. Synonyms of Premna serratifolia Linn. include P. corymbosa Merr., P. integrifolia L. and P. obtusifolia R. Br.).
Rhododendron thomsonii (半圆叶杜鹃) is a rhododendron species native to northern India, Bhutan, Nepal, Sikkim, and southern Xizang in China, where it grows at altitudes of 3000–4000 meters. It is a shrub that grows to 2–4 m in height, with leathery leaves that are oblong-elliptic to ovate or orbicular to obovate, 3–7 by 2–6 cm in size. Flowers are red.
Adenorandia is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It was described by Vermoesen in 1922. The genus contains only one species, viz. Adenorandia kalbreyeri, which is found from west-central tropical Africa.
Globularia salicina is a shrub native to the archipelago of Madeira and to the central and western Canary Islands.
Karomia speciosa is an African deciduous large shrub or bushy tree up to 7 m, and relocated to the family Lamiaceae from Verbenaceae. It is one of 9 species in the genus Karomia, a genus containing species previously classified in Holmskioldia, and is closely related to Clerodendrum. The only remaining species in the genus is Holmskioldia sanguinea, occurring in the foothills of the Himalayas.
Jamesbrittenia ramosissima is a Southern African shrub in the family Scrophulariaceae occurring in the Northern Cape and southern Namibia, westward along the Gariep River from the vicinity of Augrabies Falls. It is one of some 90 species in the genus Jamesbrittenia, ranging through Africa, with 74 species occurring in Southern Africa, and 1 in India. The genus is named for James Britten (1846-1924), medical student turned botanist, and acting Keeper of Botany at the British Museum when Kuntze named it.
Allophylus decipiens (E.Mey.) Radlk., commonly known as the bastard taaibos, is a multi- or single-stemmed, small, evergreen tree about 3–4 m in height occurring in coastal forest, fringe forest and thickets, and wooded ravines and streams. Found up to 800 m in the southern coastal regions of the Cape Province, KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland, along the escarpment forest of Mpumalanga, including Soutpansberg and in Mozambique. There are some 219 species in the genus of Allophylus.
Atalantia simplicifolia is a species of plants in the family Rutaceae. It can be considered as shrub or small tree with average height up to 5 m.
Prunus mugus is a species of cherry found in Yunnan province of China and nearby areas of Myanmar and Tibet. A prostrate shrub 1 m tall, it prefers to grow in thickets in the krummholz zone on mountain slopes from 3200 to 3,700 m or even 4,075 metres (13,400 ft) above sea level. Heinrich von Handel-Mazzetti, who discovered it, named the species after Pinus mugo, the dwarf mountain pine.