| Struthiola | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Struthiola myrsinites— Gonnabos | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malvales |
| Family: | Thymelaeaceae |
| Subfamily: | Thymelaeoideae |
| Genus: | Struthiola L. 1767 |
Struthiola is a genus of plants in the family Thymelaeaceae. In habit they are ericoid shrubs or shrublets.
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There are forty-odd species, mainly South African, mainly occurring in the Western Cape, about 25 endemic to fynbos. Their leaves are usually opposite, but sometimes alternate. Their flowers are sessile and generally solitary, but sometimes in pairs in the axils of the upper leaves. Each flower is accompanied by two ciliate bracteoles. The calyx is roughly cylindrical, with four lobes joined into a tube. The lobes are ovate to linear. There are four or eight or even twelve fleshy, subterete petals (Manning refers to them as petal-scales or petal-like-scales. [1] ) The petals are shorter than the calyx-lobes, and are surrounded by short hairs. There are four stamens arising from deep in throat of calyx-tube. The anthers are subsessile and linear, sometimes with an apical appendage. The ovary has a single loculus with a single glabrous ovule. The style is lateral, with a simple stigma, which is usually penicillate with short hairs. The fruit is small, typically 1–3 mm, dry, included in the persistent base of the calyx-tube.
The structure of the fruit in its calyx-remnant has been likened to the beak of a sparrow and gave rise to the name "Struthiola", from the Latin strutheus for a sparrow [2] or strouthos for any small bird. [3]
As usual for such inconspicuous plants, common names are neither very helpful, nor consistent. The name "stroop bossie" ("syrup bush") is locally applied to Struthiola ciliata, [1] suggesting that rural children might have been experimenting with sucking the flowers, but such explanations are necessarily speculative. One or all species are referred to as "gonna", [4] sometimes qualified, for example "soetgonna" (meaning "sweet gonna", for Struthiola dodecandra), or "aandgonna" ("evening gonna", for Struthiola argentea). "Gonna" however, also is variously applied to the recognisably similar genus Passerina and to some other genera in the Thymelaeaceae, such as Dais . So are some other variations such as "ganna", but because they are informal and local, it is not practical to be authoritative about the limits to their correct application. [4]
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Struthiola species are not spectacular plants; in their sparse ericoid habit they are typical of fynbos scrub, though also typically of such scrub, they are very attractive in the fine detail of their flowers and structure.
Curiously, in spite of their modest appearance they have been quietly popular as garden plants, particularly among collectors, perhaps because of their delicate, unexpectedly arresting nocturnal scent. Although some species, such as Struthiola myrsinites, flower quite attractively, the flowering of smaller species is easily overlooked by day, though a single plant can scent a porch on a still, warm night. This is in keeping with their narrow flowers being pollinated by small moths with fine proboscises.
The Thymelaeaceae are a cosmopolitan family of flowering plants composed of 50 genera and 898 species. It was established in 1789 by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu. The Thymelaeaceae are mostly trees and shrubs, with a few vines and herbaceous plants.
Calyceraceae is a plant family in the order Asterales. The natural distribution of the about sixty species belonging to this family is restricted to the southern half of South-America. The species of the family resemble both the family Asteraceae and the Dipsacaceae.
Cotyledon is a genus of succulent plants in the family Crassulaceae. Mostly from Southern Africa, they also occur throughout the drier parts of Africa as far north as the Arabian peninsula.
Passerina is a genus in the plant family Thymelaeaceae. They are ericoid bushes growing largely in fynbos and other Southern African scrub habitats.
Gnidia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Thymelaeaceae. It is distributed in Africa, Madagascar, Arabia, India, and Sri Lanka; more than half of all the species are endemic to South Africa. Gnidia was named for Knidos, an Ancient Greek city located in modern-day Turkey.
Mimetes chrysanthus is an evergreen, upright shrub of 1½–2 m high that has been assigned to the family Proteaceae. It has green, slightly stalked oval leaves of 3–4½ cm (1.2–1.8 in) long and 1–1¾ cm (0.4–0.7 in) wide. The inflorescences are near the tip of the branches, cylinder-shaped and consist of 50–70 densely cropped flower heads, each in the axil of a green leaf, consisting of 25–35 golden yellow, faintly sweet scented flowers. It is endemic to the Fynbos ecoregion of South Africa and is found in two locations, in the Western Cape province. The flowering season is from March to May or June, but flower heads sometimes occur in any other part of the year.
Brabejum is a genus of a single species of large evergreen tree, Brabejum stellatifolium in the family Proteaceae, commonly called wild almond, bitter almond or ghoeboontjie. It is restricted in the wild to South Africa's Western Cape province, where it grows in thickets along the banks of streams. The plant is of botanical interest as being Africa's only member of the large grevilleoid subfamily. It is a bushy small tree with branches widely at ground level and numerous erect vigorous stems. Leaves grow up to 6 in (15 cm) long, narrow and bluntly toothed, appear at intervals along the branches, mostly in whorls of 6. In summer, the plant bears white flowers densely crowded on spikes arising from rusty buds at the leaf axils. The fruits to 2 in (5 cm) long, magenta to reddish brown, similar to an almond, appear in autumn. The nut is too bitter to eat; however, in earlier times it was boiled, roasted, and ground to make a "coffee" drink.
Microloma is a small genus of Ceropegia-like twiners and twiggy bushes occurring in mainly arid or fynbos regions in South Africa. They are generally nondescript when not in bloom, but the flowers of most species are incongruously decorative.
Lapeirousia is a genus in the plant family Iridaceae. It is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, about a third of the species occurring in fynbos.
The plant genus Stilbe was described in 1767, originally as being in the Verbenaceae, but the genus now is placed in the family Stilbaceae. The entire genus is endemic to the Cape Province region of South Africa.
Orphium is a plant genus in the Gentian family (Gentianaceae), endemic to South Africa. The name derives from the legendary Greek musician Orpheus. The genus contains a single accepted species, Orphium frutescens, commonly known as the sea rose. Orphium arenarium C.Presl has been proposed as another species, but data suggest that it is synonymous with Chironia arenaria E.Mey.
Monopsis is a genus of small, Lobelia-like herbaceous plants indigenous to Africa. A few species are annuals, but most are perennials. Common names are not well established, but often refer to more familiar plants, as in "wild violet" for Monopsis unidentata, "yellow lobelia" for Monopsis lutea or "pansy lobelia" for Monopsis debilis.
Thymus pulegioides, common names broad-leaved thyme or lemon thyme, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to Europe. Growing to 5–25 cm (2–10 in) tall by 25 cm (10 in) wide, it is a small spreading subshrub with strongly aromatic leaves, and lilac pink flowers in early summer. The specific epithet pulegioides highlights its similarity to another species within Lamiaceae, Mentha pulegium (pennyroyal).
Serruria elongata or long-stalk spiderhead is a plant belonging to the protea family. It is an erect, hairless shrublet of 1–1½ m (3½–5 ft) high with densely set, alternate, finely divided leaves lower down the plant, with needle-like segments. On top of an up to 30 cm (12 in) long inflorescence stalk are several, loosely arranged heads of pin-like, densely silvery-haired flower buds, each of which opens with four curled, magenta pink corolla lobes. The species is endemic to the southern Western Cape province of South Africa. It flowers during the southern hemisphere winter and early spring, between June and September.
Leucospermum calligerum is a softly hairy shrub, with wand-like branches, entire ovate leaves that have a bony tip of about 25 × 6 mm, and globular heads of 2–3½ cm (0.8–1.4 in) in diameter, with two to six together near the tip of the branches and flowering in turn, that consist of 4-merous flowers, initially cream-colored, later pink, with the petals curled and the styles 2–2½ cm (0.8–1.0 in) long, sticking out like pins from a cushion. It is called arid pincushion or common louse pincushion in English and rooiluisie in Afrikaans. Well-scented flowers can be found from July to January. It naturally occurs in fynbos in the Northern Cape and Western Cape provinces of South Africa.
Leucospermum parile is a rounded shrub, of up to 1½ m (6 ft) high that is assigned to the family Proteaceae. It has narrow, grey felty leaves of about 2 cm (2 in) long and 7 mm (0.28 in) wide, with rich yellow, globular, well-scented flower heads of about 3 cm (1.2 in) across. It grows in pure white sand in the sandveld of a very small area in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is called Malmesbury pincushion in English and Malmesburyluisie in Afrikaans. It flowers from July till November.
Leucospermum royenifolium is an evergreen, spreading or somewhat upturning shrub of up to ½ m high and 1–3 m (3–10 ft) in diameter from the family Proteaceae. It has patent elliptic, eventually hairless leaves. The flower heads are globe-shaped, 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in) in diameter, and contain initially whitish, later pinkish, sweetly scented flowers. From the center of the flowers emerge almost straight styles that jointly give the impression of a pincushion. It is called eastern pincushion in English. It can be found flowering between July and December. It occurs in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa.
Struthiola striata is a rounded, heather-like shrub of up to 1.5 m (4.9 ft) high that is assigned to the Thymelaeaceae family. It has small assending leaves on long straight branches, with cream, soft yellow or pinkish flowers in spikes, each of which consist of a tube of about 1 cm (0.39 in) long with 4 oval sepal lobes and 4 yellow alternating petal-like scales. It is sometimes called ribbed capespray or featherhead in English and roemenaggie, katstertjie or veërtjie in Afrikaans. It grows on coastal flats and foothills in the Western Cape province of South Africa.
Struthiola tetralepis is a willowy shrublet of up to 30 cm (0.98 ft) high that is assigned to the family Thymelaeaceae. It has long straight branches that are initially hairy and are covered in leaves pressed against them. These leaves are small, overlapping, lance-shaped, scharply pointed, have a regular row of hairs along the margins, and 3-5 veins are visible on the outward facing surface. It has initially greenish yellow, later reddish brown flowers, each of which consists of a tube of about 1 cm (0.39 in) long with 4 lance-shaped, pointed sepal lobes and 4 yellow alternating petal-like scales. It flowers between October and February. It can be found in the southwest of the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is sometimes called cross capespray in English.
Otholobium accrescens is an upright, largely herbaceous subshrub assigned to the Pea family. It has up to three stems that carry upright branches in leaf axils near the ground, and have alternately set inverted egg-shaped leaves and lax heads consisting of 12-21 pea-like flowers on long peduncles in the axils of the lower leaves. It differs from most other Otholobium species by the calyx that continues to grow after flowering and the leaf that consists of just one leaflet. It is an endemic of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa near Loerie. It probably flowers August to January.