Practical identification guide to plants of northern and east-central Mali
especially northern Dogon country but includes species of northern Mali (Songhay-, Arabic-, and Tuareg-speaking zones) and of central and southern Dogon country
compiled by Jeffrey Heath (Linguistics, University of Michigan)
[note: alphabetical list of genera at the end!]
Preface
Major botanical websites
Algae
Ferns (pteridophytes)
Fungi
Lichens
Taxonomy of flowering plants (APG II system)
flowering plant families (alphabetical):
Acanthaceae
Agavaceae (see Ruscaceae)
Aizoaceae (see also Gisekiaceae, Molluginaceae)
Alismataceae
Alliaceae
Amaranthaceae
Amaryllidaceae
Ampelidaceae (see Vitaceae)
Anacardiaceae
Annonaceae
Anthericaceae
Apiaceae (= Umbelliferae)
Apocynaceae
Araceae (ex-Lemnaceae at end of section)
Araliaceae
Arecaceae (= Palmae)
Aristolochiaceae
Asclepiadaceae
Asparagaceae
Asphodelaceae
Asteraceae (= Compositae)
Balanitaceae
Bignoniaceae
Bombacaceae
Boraginaceae
Brassicaceae
Burseraceae
Caesalpinaceae (see Fabaceae-Caesalpinoideae)
Capparaceae (see ex-Capparaceae under Brassicaceae)
Caryophyllaceae
Celastraceae
Chenopodiaceae
Chrysobalanaceae
Colchicaceae
Combretaceae
Commelinaceae
Compositae (see Asteraceae)
Convolvulaceae
Cruciferae (now included in Brassicaceae)
Cucurbitaceae
Cyperaceae
Dioscoreaceae
Dracaenaceae
Ebenaceae
Elatinaceae
Euphorbiaceae
Fabaceae--Caesalpiniodeae
Fabaceae--Faboideae (= Papilionoideae)
Fabaceae--Mimosoideae
Geraniaceae
Gisekiaceae
Hernandiaceae
Hippocrataceae (see Celastraceae)
Hyacinthaceae
Hydrocharitaceae (= Limnocharitaceae)
Hydroleaceae (= Hydrophyllaceae)
Hydrophyllaceae (see Hydroleaceae)
Illecebraceae
Labiatae (see Lamiaceae)
Lamiaceae (= Labiatae)
Lauraceae
Lemnaceae (now included in Araceae)
Lentibulariaceae
Loganiaceae
Loranthaceae
Lythraceae
Malpighiaceae
Malvaceae
Meliaceae
Menispermaceae
Menyanthaceae
Mimosaceae (see Fabaceae--Mimosoideae)
Molluginaceae
Moraceae
Moringaceae
Musaceae
Myrtaceae
Najadaceae (see Hydrocharitaceae)
Nyctaginaceae
Nymphaeaceae
Olacaceae
Onagraceae (= Oenotheraceae)
Orchidaceae
Orobanchaceae
Palmae (see Arecaceae)
Papaveraceae
Papilionaceae (see Fabaceae--Papilionoideae)
Pedaliaceae
Periplocaceae (see Asclepiadaceae)
Phyllanthaceae
Piperaceae
Plantaginaceae
Plumbaginaceae
Poaceae (= Gramineae)
Polygalaceae
Polygonaceae
Pontederiaceae
Portulacaceae
Ranunculaceae
Resedaceae
Rhamnaceae
Rosaceae
Rubiaceae
Ruscaceae (see Dracaenaceae)
Rutaceae
Salvadoraceae
Sapindaceae
Sapotaceae
Scrophulariaceae
Solanaceae
Sphenocleaceae
Sterculiaceae
Taccaceae (see Dioscoreaceae)
Tamaricaceae
Tiliaceae
Turneraceae
Typhaceae
Ulmaceae
Umbelliferae (see Apiaceae)
Urticaceae
Vahliaceae
Verbenaceae
Vitaceae
Xanthorrhoeaceae (see Asphodelaceae)
Zingiberaceae
Zygophyllaceae
Preface
This "guide" is a compilation of (mostly published) information about plant species of northern and northeastern Mali where I have been doing linguistic research for some years. It is designed for my own use and that of other fieldworkers in linguistics, anthropology, and ecology, but no guarantees are made. All technical botanical information has been lifted from published sources and this guide should never be cited or relied on for any scientific purpose, though it may be useful as a starting point. For many species there are links to images on the web, and (in green are forthcoming; with "JH") to my own photographic images, which include many taken in the field, others of my pressed specimens, and others of specimens at Kew or at CIRAD Montpellier (these have ".Kew." or ".Montp." in the file name). Since many of the external links may be short-lived, interested parties may wish to copy them while this is possible. Over time there will undoubtedly be many new web images and descriptions, which viewers can find by their own web searches.
The plan is to make this, and later versions, available on the Dogon languages project website, http://www.dogonlanguages.org.
As time goes on I will add more (and better) images, add or correct written information, add much more ethnobotanical information (from our informant work and from published works, primarily Burkill), and more and better location records. We have been separately compiling flora and fauna lexicons for each Dogon language (and other languages), and we will eventually interface this guide with those lexicons.
Immediately below is a synopsis of top-down botanical classification, which is rather in flux at the moment. In general I use the APG II system (APG = Angiosperm Phylogeny Group), but I check Wikipedia for updates. I have generally relied on the (online) African Flowering Plant Database for taxonomic updates at the species level, without knowing much about how it is managed.
The main body of the guide is organized by botanical families in alphabetical order ("algae," "ferns," "fungi," and "lichens" are treated for this purpose as families but are located up front). Within a family, the genera are usually listed alphabetically, but in large families (e.g. Fabaceae, Poaceae) there are subdivisions corresponding to subfamilies and tribes.
At the moment I have put relatively little information in this guide about grasses (Poaceae) since we use the monograph Les poacées du Niger, by Pierre Poilecot of CIRAD, and since elaborate species descriptions are available in the online Kew grass database (see links below). Likewise, the availability of various works on trees and shrubs with taxonomic keys and images, notably Michel Arbonnier's Arbres, arbustes et lianes des zones sèches de l'Afrique de l'Ouest, makes it unnecessary to include much information on certain trees. Other species, or groups of species, are mentioned but neglected because they appear to be rare in the zone I am currently working in.
A typical entry consists of species binomial and any synonyms, followed by location records for Mali (mostly from Boudet, Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du Mali, supplemented where useful by my own records), habitat, "notes" (taxonomically relevant descriptive information), and occasionally further information. Many entries conclude with web links or (in green) references to my own photographs. For some difficult groups I have included simple "keys".
I am working on similar "guides" for fauna, particularly insects.
I thank Pierre Poilecot of CIRAD for his invaluable help in identifying my Malian specimens. I also thank Anthony Reznicek of the University of Michigan Herbarium, and Steve Renvoise of the Royal Botanical Gardens--Kew. None of them were involved in preparing this "guide," which is undoubtedly full of errors.
Criticisms and corrections are welcome. (email: schweinehaxen (at) hotmail (dot) com)
Major botanical websites
Watson & Dallwitz 1992--, The families of flowering plants
http://delta-intkey.com/angio/www/polygala.htm
images from Rep. of Niger by Reiichi Miura
http://www.jircas.affrc.go.jp/project/africa_dojo/Fakara_plants/Contents/species%20index.html
African Flowering Plant Database
http://www.ville-ge.ch/cjb/bd/africa/index.php?langue=an
flower images (CIRAD)
http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale
plants of Hawaii
http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/family/index.html
images from Algerian Sahara, F. Meignant
http://pageperso.aol.fr/fmeignant/FloSah.html
images from Algerian Sahara, Sahara-nature
http://www.sahara-nature.com/liste_nom.htm?aff=nom
Flora of Zimbabwe
http://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/
http://www.hear.org/pier/imagepages/thumbnails/
parasitic plants
http://www.parasiticplants.siu.edu/ListParasites.html
flora of Congo
http://www.nzenzeflowerspauwels.be/FlowersRDC.htm
tropical weeds
http://malherbologie.cirad.fr/Fr/baseplantes/index_baseplante.php?pageid=baseplante&liste=listeGenre
grassland species
http://www.fao.org/ag/agp/AGPC/doc/gbase/Default.htm
Kew grass database (no illustrations)
http://www.kew.org/data/grasses-db/sppindex.htm
Figweb
flora of Canary Islands
http://www.biologie.uni-regensburg.de/Botanik/Schoenfelder/kanaren/flora_canaria_A.html
Virtual Field Herbarium
http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/VFH/image/index.php
Int'l Plant Names Index
http://www.ipni.org/ipni/plantnamesearchpage.do
plant systematics website
http://www.plantsystematics.org/
Actiniopteridaceae
Actiniopteris
Actiniopteris radiata
records: Hombori, SE Douentza (Boudet); Kikara (JH)
habitat: the typical fern of inselbergs
notes: unusual "monkey-hand" shape
Actiniopteris.radiata.Kik.JH.jpg
Actiniopteris.radiata.Kik.spcA2.JH.jpg
Adiantaceae or Pteridaceae
Adiantum (classic ferns)
Adiantum capillus-veneris ("banksianum")
habitat: wet areas around rocks
images.Algeria http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=adiantum%20capillus-veneris
Adiantum philippense
records: Bamako, Kita, Koulikoro (Boudet); pantropical
habitat: cool soil in shade, s.t. on rocks
description (Flora Zambesiaca):
Rhizome short, suberect or creeping with tufted fronds and with dark-brown subulate rhizome-scales c. 3 mm. long. Stipe castaneous, up to 15 cm. long, glabrous. Frond arching, herbaceous, often proliferous at the apex. Lamina up to 42 x9.5 cm., lanceolate in outline, pinnate; pinnae up to 2 x 4.6 cm., mostly very broadly oblong to rhombic, more reduced and obcuneate towards the apex of the frond, borne on slender castaneous petioles up to 1.8 cm. long, shallowly incised along the acroscopic margin into truncate lobes, glabrous on both surfaces. Sori borne on the apices of the pinna lobes; indusial flaps up to 2 cm. long, linear to shallowly lunate, glabrous.
Adiantum schweinfurthii
records: Tabacco (Boudet)
habitat: shady ravine edges
Adiantum.schweinfurtii.spc(Montp).JH.jpg
Azollaceae
Azolla (tiny, floating)
Azolla africana
records: Gao, Sendegue (Boudet)
habitat: floating
Azolla.africana.spc(Montp).JH.jpg
Lomariopsidaceae
Bolbitis
Bolbitis heudelotii
records: Fincolo (Niger Buckle) (Boudet)
habitat: rocks with running water
Bolbitis.heudelotii.spc(Montp).JH.jpg
Marsileaceae
Marsilea (aquatic clover, 4-leafed, leaves may float on surface)
Marsilea aegyptiaca
records: Koublik (Boudet); Southern Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt
habitat: able to survive long droughts
image http://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/boga/html/Marsilea.aegyptiaca.ja3.jpg
Marsilea credulata (see M. minuta)
Marsilea fimbriata (see M. minuta)
Marsilea gibba [not in African Flowering Plants Database]
records: Gao (Boudet)
habitat: alongside watercourses, dry depressions
Marsilea gymnocarpa (see M. nubica)
Marsilea minuta (syns M. crenulata, M. fimbriata)
records: Sotuba, Korofina (Boudet)
habitat: drying mud, rice fields, rocks near waterfalls, often in colonies
image.Taiwan http://www.ymps.tyc.edu.tw/~plant/pool/pic/01/aq-019.JPG
Marsilea nubica (syn M. gymnocarpa) [not in African Flowering Plants Database]
records: Timbuktu, Gao, Dogo (Boudet)
habitat: shallow depressions, wet sands, often in colonies
Marsilea sp.
Thelypteridaceae
image: hybrid Christella dentata x C. parasitica (Hawaii) http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/christella_dentata_x_parasitica.htm
Christella
Christella dentata (see Thelypteris dentata)
records: Koulikoro (Boudet)
habitat: ravine
note: classic fern, highly dentate leaf edge
description < Flora Zambesica online 2007:
Rhizome c. 7 mm. in diam., creeping, with fronds closely spaced and with dark-brown ovate to lanceolate acuminate entire thinly pilose rhizome-scales up to 6 mm. long. Frond arching, non-proliferous, herbaceous. Stipe up to 20 cm. long, pale-brown to greyish-brown, glabrous, thinly pubescent with minute white hairs and with lanceolate scales about the base similar to those on the rhizome. Lamina up to 1.3 x 0.4 m., pinnate, elliptic to narrowly elliptic in outline, apex acuminate with a deeply pinnatifid terminal segment, lower pinnae gradually decrescent; middle pinnae up to 21 x 2.2 cm., very narrowly oblong or attenuate with a long linear acuminate shallowly crenate apex, deeply pinnatifid into oblong slightly falcate obtuse to acute entire lobes, up to 5 mm. broad, pilose along the costa with a few scattered hairs on the costules and veins ventrally, thinly pubescent with minute white hairs on the costae and costules dorsally and along the margins and with even smaller hairs on the lamina; 1 or more pairs of veins (usually a pair and a single vein) anastomosing at and below the sinus. Rhachis pale-brown, pilose with stiff often curved hairs and thinly pubescent with minute white hairs. Sori circular, up to 14 per segment, borne 1/2-way between the costule and the margin; indusium up to 1 mm. in diam., pilose with short white hairs.
taxonomy: Kikara specimen needs to be checked against Christella (Thelypteris) and Adiantum
cf.Thelypteris.dentata.Kik.spcA2.JH.jpg
image (Wiki): http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Christella_dentata_-_Downy_wood_fern.jpg
images (Singapore): http://www.natureloveyou.sg/Christella dentata/Main.html
Cyclosorus
Cyclosorus dentatus (see Christella dentata [given as syn in Boudet])
[but AFPD appears to distinguish the two, with Cyclosorus accepted for N Africa]
Cyclosorus striatus
records: Sikasso (Boudet)
habitat: swampy prairies, forest galleries
specimen (Aluka): http://www.aluka.org/action/showContentImage?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.SPECIMEN.B 20 0057584&pgs=
Thelypteris
Thelypteris dentata (see Christella dentata)
Podaxis pistillaris (puffball)
native terms: often called "donkey penis" or the like by Dogon and montane Songhay
Podaxis.pistillaris.Tup.JH.jpg
capped muschrooms
mushroom(white,capped).Adia.JH.jpg
Pseudevernia
Pseudevernia furfuracea
ethnobotany: these dried lichens, in dried form, are a prized spice in Timbuktu-Gao cuisine
Pseudevernia.furfuracea.JH.jpg
image http://scuole.provincia.so.it/SMSassiTorelli/licheninrete/images/specie/pseudevernia.jpg
Taxonomy of flowering plants (APG II system)
(for updates see Wikipedia or other sites)
(Angiosperm Phylogeny Group 2003)
ANGIOSPERMS
· Nymphaeaceae
clade magnoliids
v order Laurales
· Hernandiaceae
· Lauraceae
v order Magnoliales
· Annonaceae
· Myristicaceae
v order Piperales
· Aristolochiaceae
· Piperaceae
clade monocots
v order Alismatales
mostly herbs, with flowers arranged in inflorescences
· Alismataceae
mostly aquatic
· Araceae (includes Lemnaceae)
· Lemnaceae -- see Araceae
· Hydrocharitaceae (includes Najadaceae)
aquatic
Najas, Ottelia
· Najadaceae -- see Hydrocharitaceae
· Limnocharitaceae
v order Asparagales
· Agavaceae (optionally subsumed under Asparagaceae in APG II, cf. Dracaenaceae)
· Alliaceae (+ Amaryllidaceae)
· Amaryllidaceae (optionally subsumed under Alliaceae in APG II)
· Asparagaceae (+ Agavaceae, Hyacinthaceae, Ruscaceae, Anthericaceae)
· Anthericaceae (optionally subsumed under Asparagaceae in APG II)
· Asphodelaceae (optionally subsumed under Xanthorrhoeaceae in APG II)
Aloe
· Dracaenaceae
Sansevieria
· Hyacinthaceae (optionally subsumed under Asparagaceae in APG II)
Dipcadi, Drimia, Urginea
· Orchidaceae
· Ruscaceae (see Dracaenaceae)
· Xanthorrhoeaceae (+Asphodelaceae)
v order Dioscoreales
· Dioscoreaceae (in APG II includes Taccaceae)
· Taccaceae -- see Dioscoreaceae
v order Liliales
· Colchicaceae
· Liliaceae (now sharply circumscribed)
· Smilacaceae
clade commelinids
v order Arecales
· Arecaceae (=Palmae)
· Palmae (see Arecaceae)
v order Commelinales
· Commelinaceae
· Pontederiaceae
v order Poales
· Cyperaceae
· Eriocaulacaceae
· Flagellariaceae
· Gramineae (see Poaceae)
· Poaceae (=Gramineae)
· Typhaceae
v order Zingiberales
· Musaceae
· Zingiberaceae
clade eudicots
v order Ranunculales
· Menispermaceae
· Ranunculaceae
clade core eudicots
v order Caryophyllales
· Aizoaceae
· Amaranthaceae
· Caryophyllaceae
· Gisekiaceae
· Illecebraceae
· Molluginaceae
· Nyctaginaceae
· Plumbaginaceae
· Polygonaceae
· Portulacaceae
· Tamaricaceae
v order Santalales
· Loranthaceae
· Olacaceae
· Opiliaceae
clade rosids
· Vitaceae
v order Geraniales
· Geraniaceae
v order Myrtales
· Combretaceae
· Lythraceae
· Melastomataceae
· Myrtaceae
· Onagraceae
clade eurosids I
· Zygophyllaceae
· Balanitaceae (s.t. included in Zygophyllaceae)
v order Celastrales
· Celastraceae
v order Cucurbitales
· Cucurbitaceae
v order Fabales
· Fabaceae
· subfamily Caesalpinioideae
· subfamily Mimosoideae
· subfamily Papilionoideae
· Polygalaceae
v order Malpighiales
· Chrysobalanaceae
· Elatinaceae
· Euphorbiaceae
· Malphighiaceae
· Phyllanthaceae (recently separated from Euphorbiaceae)
v order Oxalidales
· Connaraceae
v order Rosales
· Moraceae
· Rhamnaceae
· Rosaceae
· Ulmaceae
· Urticaceae
v order Brassicales
· Brassicaceae (includes Capparaceae)
· Capparaceae (see Brassicaceae)
· Caricaceae
· Resedaceae
· Salvadoraceae
v order Malvales
· Cochlospermaceae
· Malvaceae s.l. [includes old Malvaceae, Tiliaceae, Bombacaceae, and Sterculiaceae]
v order Sapindales
· Anacardiaceae
· Burseraceae
· Meliaceae
· Rutaceae
· Sapindaceae
· Simaroubaceae
clade asterids
v order Ericales
· Ebenaceae
· Sapotaceae
clade euasterids I
· Boraginaceae
· Vahliaceae
v order Gentianales
· Apocynaceae
· Asclepiadaceae
· Loganiaceae
· Rubiaceae
v order Lamiales
typical features
superior ovary composed of two fused carpels
five petals fused into a tube
bilaterally symmetrical, often bilabiate corolla
four (or fewer) fertile stamens
· Acanthaceae
· Bignoniaceae
· Lamiaceae
· Lentibulariaceae
· Orobanchaceae
· Pedaliaceae
· Plantaginaceae
· Scrophulariaceae
· Verbenaceae
v order Solanales
· Convolvulaceae
· Hydroleaceae (= Hydrophyllaceae [Berhaut, Boudet])
· Hydrophyllaceae (see Hydroleaceae)
· Solanaceae
· Sphenocleaceae
v order Apiales
· Apiaceae (= Umbelliferae)
· Aralliaceae
· Umbelliferae (see Apiaceae)
v order Asterales
· Asteraceae (=Compositae)
· Campanulaceae (includes Lobeliaceae)
· Compositae (see Asteraceae)
· Lobeliaceae
· Menyanthaceae
herbs, generally erect; leaves opposite (2) or verticillate (4), usually entire but occasionally dentate at the base; upper ovary of flower develops into an extended capsule fruit divided into two halves, which may open explosively (expelling seeds); flower with 4-5 petals
Blepharis
Blepharis ciliaris
records: north of Gao (Boudet)
(more southerly specimens previously confused with B. linariifolia)
notes: conspicuous thorns
flower http://uk.geocities.com/nabq2000/Sinai_files/image027.jpg
flower http://uk.geocities.com/nabq2000/Sinai_files/image017.jpg
Blepharis linariifolia (s.t. spelled lineariifolia)
records: Goundam, Niono, Bandiagara-Mopti (Boudet); collected at Hombori and occasionally around Douentza (JH)
habitat: sandy
notes: low-growing herb; conspicuous bright blue flowers in erect spikes 2-8 cm long; first (lowest) leaves often with dentations near base, other leaves linear (long and very thin); little or no petiole to leaf; stem cylindrical
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/b/blepharis_linariifolia
Blepharis maderaspatensis subsp. rubiifolia
records: Koulikoro, San, Niono (Boudet); collected around Douentza (JH)
notes: procumbent shrubby herb; small white flowers; leaves wider than B. lineariifolia, verticilate by 4, little or no petiole to leaf; stem cylindrical
Blepharis.maderaspatensis.Montp.JH.jpg
leaf.flower.Zimbabwe: http://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/images/15/153890-2-t.jpg
specimen (Aluka): http://www.aluka.org/action/showCompilationPage?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.COMPILATION.PLANT-NAME-SPECIES.BLEPHARIS.MADERASPATENSIS
Dicliptera
Dicliptera verticillata
records: Bamako (Boudet, Supplement, p. 435)
habitat: likes clay and limestone soils
notes: decumbent perennial herb, woody toward the base, several-angled stems up to 1 m long; leaves opposite (2); petiole 1-3 cm; hexagonal stem cross-section, small mauve flowers
taxonomy: this binomial was also (mis-)applied F.W.T.A. to D. hyalina
Dicliptera.verticillata.stem.bracts.spcA2.JH.jpg
Hygrophila
Hygrophila africana (not in Berhaut)
records: Sanga (Boudet ex Griaule)
habitat: beside water courses
reference: Heine, Kew Bull 16:176 (1962)
specimen (Aluka): http://www.aluka.org/action/showCompilationPage?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.COMPILATION.PLANT-NAME-SPECIES.HYGROPHILA.AFRICANA
Hygrophila auriculata
records: near Kidal, Niono (Boudet); observed between Douentza and Fombori and at Bounou (JH)
habitat: wet areas, beside ponds
notes: stout annual herb to 1 m high, leaves opposite, lanceolate to 25 cm long, sessile (no petiole); quadrangular stem cross-section, some white hairs on stems; flowers blue-mauve (occasionally white) in bunches where leaves join stem, mixed with conspicuous thorns 2-4 cm long; capsule to 3 cm long with 8 grains
Hygrophila.auriculata.entire.Fombori.12.06
Hygrophila.auriculata.clump.Fombori.12.06.JH.jpg
Hygrophila.auriculata.close.Fombori.12.06.JH.jpg
postage.stamp.Ruanda http://www.plantstamps.net/stamps/rwanda/1989_Flowers/1989_hygrophila_auriculata_s.jpg
flower http://www.tcp-ip.or.jp/~jswc3242/000/916.jpg
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/h/hygrophila_auriculata
Hygrophila micrantha
records: Gao, Diafarabé, Gourma area (Boudet); collected near Hombori (JH)
habitat: humid areas
notes: small plant, lanceolate leaves 2-3 cm long; small violet-blue flowers; linear capsule 8 mm.
Hygrophila.micrantha.entire.JH.jpg
Hygrophila.micrantha.spcA2.JH.jpg
specimen (Aluka): http://www.aluka.org/action/showCompilationPage?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.COMPILATION.PLANT-NAME-SPECIES.HYGROPHILA.MICRANTHA
Hygrophila senegalensis
records: Niono, Gossi, Koulikoro (Boudet)
habitat: humid or swampy areas
notes: erect herb to 40 cm high; leaves linear 3 to 9 cm, opposite (by 2); quadrangular stem cross-section; dark violet-blue flowers, isolated or in fascicles, at top of stem forming a kind of spike with tiny leaves; fusiform capsule 7 mm
speciment (Aluka): http://www.aluka.org/action/showCompilationPage?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.COMPILATION.PLANT-NAME-SPECIES.HYGROPHILA.SENEGALENSIS
Hypoestes
Hypoestes forskalei (also spelled forskalii, forskaolii; in Berhaut as H. verticillaris)
records: Djenne, Gao, south of Mopti
habitat: lightly inundated depressions, clay or sandy
notes: perennial, often in patches; rings around stem, from each ring there emerge two opposite leaves and two flower spikes; leaves oval-elliptical 4 to 12 cm long, petiole 5-12 mm (to 6 cm in rainy season); stem round; small white flowers in bunches or small spikes
specimen (Aluka): http://www.aluka.org/action/doBrowse?sa=1&sa=1&st=6568&st=146011&br=tax-collections|part-of|collection-major
Hypoestes verticillaris (see H. forskalei)
Lepidagathis
Lepidagathis anobrya
records: Kita, Sanga, Koulikoro (Boudet)
habitat: gravelly, rocky
notes: notable for having a wide globular inflorescence on the ground, with many linear bracts among the flowers, sometimes also other similar inflorescences higher up the stem; stem quadrangular
Lepidagathis.anobrya.spcA2.JH.jpg
images http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/VFH/image/index.php?taxonomy=544&last=5
Monechma
Monechma ciliatum
records: San, Niono, Gosi, Sotuba (Boudet)
habitat: savanna, fields, rice paddies
notes: annual herb 15-50 cm high, leaves opposite, lanceolate to 5-10 cm long; quadrangular stem; small flowers with white corolla in clusters of 2-3 flowers; white hairs on calyx; capsule 8-9 mm.
Monechma.ciliatum.Dogon.JH.jpg
image.Miura http://www.jircas.affrc.go.jp/project/africa_dojo/Fakara_plants/Contents/Species%20pages/Moneccil.html
Monechma ndellense
records: Sanga, Sikasso (Boudet)
habitat: rocks
notes: 30-70 cm high; leaves opposite, 2-8 cm long, sometimes bunched; flowers in terminal spike 3-8 cm; many small capsules in spikes
Monechma.ndellense.Anda.JH.jpg
specimen (Aluka): http://www.aluka.org/action/showCompilationPage?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.COMPILATION.PLANT-NAME-SPECIES.MONECHMA.NDELLENSE
Nelsonia
Nelsonia canescens
records: Sanga, Bamako, Douentza (Boudet); Douentza area (JH)
habitat: pastures
notes: perennial; trails on ground; leaves opposite, much larger in young plant (rainy season) than during flowering; long dense flower spikes with small blue flowers
Nelsonia.canescens.spcA2.JH.jpg
Nelsonia.canescens.spc04-527.Beni.JH.jpg
flower http://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/boga/html/Nelsonia.canescens.BGBO.ja.jpg
Peristrophe
Peristrophe bicalyculata
records: Gao, Bandiagara-Mopti, Koulikoro (Boudet)
habitat: shade
notes: perennial herb to over 1 m high; stem hexagonal; inflorescence in terminal panicle, flowers at ends of pedicels 5-10 mm; corolla mauve (s.t. white); capsule with two "teeth" emerging from both halves when opened
Peristrophe.bicalyculata.fl.Fombori.12.06
Peristrophe.bicalyculata.spcA2.JH.jpg
Ruellia
Ruellia patula (not in Berhaut; occurs in Arabia, Ethiopia, Madagascar, etc.)
records: Gao (Boudet)
habitat: verging on brousse tigrée
references:
BOULOS, L. (1972). FLORA OF EGYPT. Al Harara Publishing. Cairo. vol.3 p.101
MONOD, Th. (1940). Contributions ? l'étude du Sahara occidental. Fasc. II. Phanérogames. Publ. Comité Etudes Hist. Scient. Afrique Occid. Fran?. Sér. B, 5(2): 53-211 (1939). p.1
OZENDA, P. (1983). Flore du Sahara (ed. 2). Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS.), Paris, 622p. p.575
Ruellia.patula_Walo_spc2006_057.JH.jpg
Ruellia.patula.capsule.half.spcA2.JH.jpg
drawing http://www.illustratedgarden.org/mobot/rarebooks/page.asp?relation=QK98J321781V1&identifier=0265
Ruspolia
Ruspolia hypocrateriformis var. hypocrateriformis (fruit capsules similar to Ruellia)
records: Kita (Boudet)
shrub 1-2 m; leaves opposite 6-10 cm x 4-6 cm, summit acuminate, 3-5 lateral nerves, petioles up to 2 cm; flowers in spiciform terminal panicle; corolla bright red with darker velvety center, 5-lobed flower; capsule 2-3 cm long with two "teeth" inside each half when opened
(for Sansevieria see now Ruscaceae)
(for Gisekia see Gisekiaceae; for Glinus, Limeum, Mollugo see Molluginaceae)
Sesuvium
Sesuvium sesuvioides (syn Trianthema polysperma)
records: Timbuktu, El Ayoun el Kohal (Boudet)
habitat: sand
notes: [from web] succulent creeping annual herb with thick leaves and thick reddish stem, tiny red flowers
images.Namibia http://www.larsen-twins.dk/ombidi/104omundjulu.html
Trianthema (in Berhaut under Ficoidae, vol. 4)
Trianthema portulacastrum
records: Nioro du Sahel, Macina, Timbuktu (Boudet)
habitat: weed of waste places and fields
notes: fleshy, prostrate herb; stems to 0.5 m long
ethnobotany: UPWTA 1.39-40
image(entire) http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/FloraData/110/TaxonImage/Aizoaceae/Trianthema%20portulacastrum.jpg
flowers: http://www.fireflyforest.com/flowers/images/pink/pink_41/Trianthema_por_400.jpg
images.Hawaii http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/trianthema_portulacastrum.htm
Trianthema polysperma (see Sesuvium sesuvioides)
Zaleya
Zaleya pentandra
records: Adrar, Gao, Mopti (Boudet)
habitat: forms close cover over waste ground
notes: semi-succulent, prostrate herb with stout stem
ethnobotany: UPWTA 1.40 (burned for potash in Timbuktu)
Zaleya.pentandra.spc04-274.Beni.JH.jpg
image: http://www.metafro.be/prelude/prelude_pic/Zaleya_pentandra1.jpg
specimen (isotype, Aluka): http://www.aluka.org/action/showMetadata?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.SPECIMEN.EA000002277&pgs=
another specimen (Aluka): http://www.aluka.org/action/showCompilationPage?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.COMPILATION.PLANT-NAME-SPECIES.ZALEYA.PENTANDRA
[monocots, Berhaut vol. 9]
Limnophyton
Limnophyton obtusifolium (syn Sagittaria obtusifolia)
records: Gao (Boudet)
habitat: muddy swamp margins
notes: erect tufted herb
Limnophyton.obtusifolium.spc(Montp).JH.jpg
specimen (Aluka): http://www.aluka.org/action/showMetadata?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.SPECIMEN.K000345993&pgs=
Ranalisma
Ranalisma humile
records: Ansongo, Gao, Sotuba (Boudet)
habitat: swampy areas
Ranalisma.humile.spc(Montp).JH.jpg
(moncots; below as now circumscribed by APG II sensu strictu, but in broader use includes Amaryllidaceae and Agapanthaceae)
Allium
Allium cepa (cultivated onion)
image http://www.atlas-roslin.pl/foto/rk/rk-cebula-014.jpg
Allium sativum (cultivated garlic)
image http://www.awl.ch/heilpflanzen/allium_sativum/knoblauch.jpg
Allium ascalonicum (shallot)
Allium fistulosum and others (scallion)
Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum (leek)
Achyranthes (resemble Cyathula, but Achyranthes flowers are linear)
Achyranthes argentea (see A. aspera var. sicula)
Achyranthes aspera var. aspera
records: var aspera: Mopti, Bore, Timbuktu (Boudet)
habitat: shade
notes: perennial, subligneous in lower parts, roots thick and woody; leaf 4-9 cm x 3-6 cm; petiole 5-10 mm; stem roughly quadrangular
Achyranthes aspera var. sicula (in Boudet as A. argentea)
records: var sicula: lac Debo, Gao, Sanga (Boudet)
notes: ephemeral annual (rainy season); to 50-80 cm; leaves pubescent, silvery, but becoming glabrous when mature, 4-19 cm x 2-4 cm; petiole variable 2-30 mm; stem quadrangular with furrows
Achyranthes.aspera.Kub.9.06.JH.jpg
image.(var.aspera).Hawaii http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/achyranthes_aspera_var_aspera.htm
flower (CIRAD var. sicula): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/a/achyranthes_aspera_var_sicula
images.Pacific http://www.hear.org/pier/imagepages/thumbnails/achyranthes_aspera.htm
Aerva
Aerva javanica
records: Gao, Timbuktu, Kidal, Gosi (Boudet);common in north (Gao, Timbuktu), not observed in northern Dogon country (JH)
habitat: sand
notes: whitish tinge all over (white hairs on leaf and stems); cottony white flowers in panicles of dense spikes
images.Algeria http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=aerva%20javanica
images (Libya): closeup: http://www.ecliptomaniacs.com/2006/florafauna/pictures/DSCN0174bs.jpg
entire: http://www.ecliptomaniacs.com/2006/florafauna/pictures/DSCN2302bs.jpg
Alternanthera
Alternanthera nodiflora
notes: erect at base then falling over and trailing on ground; perianth segments 4 mm long, very acute, completely hiding the mature fruit; leaves linear-lanceolate, acute or subacute, obscurely undulate, up to 7 cm long and 1 cm broad, glabrous or nearly so; petals sharply pointed
Alternanthera.nodiflora.JH.jpg
Alternanthera.nodiflora.spcA2.JH.jpg
flower (CIRAD, 2 pics):
http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/a/alternanthera_nodiflora
http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/a/alternanthera_nodiflora2
Alternanthera pungens (in Berhaut as A. repens) ("khaki weed")
records: Hombori (Boudet)
habitat: ruderal, wet sand
notes: mainly trailing on ground; leaf oval 2-4 cm x 1-2.5 cm
images.Hawaii http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/alternanthera_pungens.htm
Alternanthera sessilis
notes: usually trailing on ground; perianth segments 2-2.5 cm long, not very acute, not hiding mature fruit; leaves oblanceolate or elliptic, up to 8 cm long and 2 cm broad but often much smaller, glabrous or nearly so and often pustulate; petals not sharply pointed
Alternanthera.sessilis.Djenne.JH.jpg
image.Israel http://www.botanic.co.il/a/holiday/images/ALTSES1.jpg
images.Pacific http://www.hear.org/pier/imagepages/thumbnails/alternanthera_sessilis.htm
pink variety http://blog.fuh.mods.jp/images/tsuruno.jpg
Amaranthus (most of these are edible--foliage & stems cooked in sauces)
Amaranthus dubius (cultivated)
notes: erect; many flower spikes on stem, often decumbent (hanging), cultivated
taxonomy: believed to be an ancient hybrid with A. spinosus and another amaranth, close to A. hybridus (in Berhaut & Boudet)
Amaranthus.dubius.entire.Adia.JH.jpg
stem.spike: http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/600max/starr_040527_9001_amaranthus_dubius.jpg
images.Pacific http://www.hear.org/pier/imagepages/thumbnails/amaranthus_dubius.htm
Amaranthus graecizans
records: San, Djenne, Timbuktu, Nioro, Gao (Boudet); Hombori, Douentza (JH)
habitat: wet sand, around villages, weed
notes: may trail on ground or rise to 50 cm, leaves linear to elliptical, 1-4 cm long at base of plant; tiny green flowers
Amaranthus.graecizans.2.Dogon.JH.jpg
Amaranthus.graecizans.spcA2.JH.jpg
image (Malta): http://www.maltawildplants.com/AMAR/Amaranthus_graecizans.php
Amaranthus spinosus
records: Kita, Segou (Boudet)
habitat: wet sand, ruderal, gregarious
notes: resembles A. viridis; erect; tiny flowers with 5 sepals; few flower spikes at end of stem; two spines at the base of each petiole
image http://spectrum.troy.edu/~diamond/pikepics/amaranthusspinosus.jpg
images.Hawaii http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/amaranthus_spinosus.htm
images.Pacific http://www.hear.org/pier/imagepages/thumbnails/amaranthus_spinosus.htm
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/a/amaranthus_spinosus
images (Auburn): http://www.ag.auburn.edu/agrn/weedsci/weedid/spinypig.html
Amaranthus viridis
records: Kabara, San, Djenne, Sanga (Boudet)
habitat: needs nitrogen
notes: resembles A. spinosus; erect; tiny flowers with 3 sepals; many flower spikes at end of stem; no spines
Amaranthus.viridis.Dogon.JH.jpg
Amaranthus.viridis.spc04-335a.Anda.JH.jpg
images.Hawaii http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/amaranthus_viridis.htm
images.Pacific http://www.hear.org/pier/imagepages/thumbnails/amaranthus_viridis.htm
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/a/amaranthus_viridis
Celosia (spikes resemble Pandiaka spp., but leaves generally alternate and have petioles)
Celosia argentea (introduced)
records: Hombori, Gao (Boudet)
notes: flowers in dense terminal spike (cf. Pandiaka) 3-10 cm long; tip of spike sometimes pink before flowering; petiole 1.2-1.5 cm with a "gutter" on top
pink flower http://home.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/shoyaku/photo/Thai/020307Celosia.jpg
flower (CIRAD), 2 pics:
http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/c/celosia_argentea
http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/c/celosia_argentea2
images (Singapore): http://www.natureloveyou.sg/Celosia argentea/Main.html
Celosia trigyna
records: Segou, Niono (Boudet); Douentza area (JH)
habitat: humid areas, sometimes in shade or on termitaries
notes: small white flowers in small successive glomerules in terminal inflorescence (like interrupted spike); leaf with 8-10 lateral nerves; young plant has falciform (sickle-shaped) folioles at base of petioles; long petiole 3-8 cm; stem cross-section pentagonal
Celosia.trigyna.spc04-283.Beni.JH.jpg
image (CIRAD, Malherbologie): http://malherbologie.cirad.fr/Adventrop/especes/c/ceotr/ceotr_a.html
Cyathula (resemble Achyranthes, not definitely recorded in northern Dogon ctry; flowers are ovoid, not linear, and shorter [3-4 mm] than those of Achyranthes)
Cyathula achyranthoides (Boudet)
records: Bamako
habitat: humid, shady
notes: flower has several thorny bracts extending beyond sommet of petals and sepals
specimen (Aluka): http://www.aluka.org/action/showMetadata?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.SPECIMEN.FHI0031531-0&pgs=
Cyathula prostrata
records: Timbuktu, Koulikoro (Boudet)
habitat: "zones incultes"
notes: stem cross-section quadrangular to nearly cylindrical
images: http://www.natureloveyou.sg/Cyathula prostrata/Main.html
Nothosaerva
Nothosaerva brachiata
records: Menaka, Dire (Boudet); near Douentza (JH)
habitat: inundatable sandy-clayey flats
notes: erect, 30-60 cm; tiny white flowers in spiciform capitula
Nothosaerva.brachiata.Fombori.12.06
specimen (Aluka): http://www.aluka.org/action/showContentImage?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.SPECIMEN.P00482821
Pandiaka (these plants resemble Celosia spp., but leaves are opposite and sessile)
Pandiaka angustifolia (in Berhaut as P. heudelotii)
records: Ansongo, Bandiagara, Bamako, Niono (Boudet)
habitat: ruderal (fields, sand, rocky debris)
notes: leaf linear, subsessile acute, 6-10 cm x 8 mm broad; whole plant sparingly pubescent; flower heads subtended by linear, leaf-like bracts up to 5 cm long
Pandiaka.angustifolia.spc04-334a.Kubewel.JH.jpg
Pandiaka.angustifolia.spcA2.JH.jpg
specimen (Aluka): http://www.aluka.org/action/showContentImage?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.SPECIMEN.EA000002261&pgs=
Pandiaka involucrata
records: Sikasso, Nampala (Boudet)
habitat: sandy
notes: leaf lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, sessile, subacute, 5-8 cm x 3 cm broad; whole plant long-pilose; flower heads subtended by foliaceous, ovate bracts about 1 cm long
specimen (Aluka): http://www.aluka.org/action/showContentImage?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.SPECIMEN.K000243732
Pupalia
Pupalia lappacea
records: Timbuktu, Bamba, Gao, Niono (Boudet); common through Songhay and northern Dogon zones (JH)
habitat: rocky debris, beside watercourses, often ruderal
notes: erect; has abundant burrs that stick to clothing (cf. cram-cram grass, Cenchrus biflorus)
image (Miura): http://ss.jircas.affrc.go.jp/project/africa_dojo/Fakara_plants/Contents/Species pages/Pupallap.html
"wild onions," see also Hyacinthaceae
(monocots; in APG II, optionally subsumed under Alliaceae; in previous classifications sometimes included under Liliaceae)
Crinum
Crinum asiaticum
records: none (Boudet)
images (Singapore): http://www.natureloveyou.sg/Crinum asiaticum/Main.html
Crinum distichum
records: Bamako-Sotuba, Niono (Boudet)
habitat: temporarily inundated zones
notes: bulb 6 cm thick; leaves linear, folded into a gutter, 30-50 cm x 1-2 cm; flower white with pink or purple stripe in center
ethnobotany: bulb toxic
flower (CIRAD, mis-spelled): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/c/crimum_distichum
specimen (Aluka): http://www.aluka.org/action/showContentImage?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.SPECIMEN.FHI0039745-0&pgs=
Crinum ornatum (syn C. zeylanicum)
records: Niono, Gourma Rharous (Boudet); northern Dogon country (JH)
habitat: beside ponds
notes: bulb 4-9 (-15) cm thick; leaves linear to narrowly lanceolate, 30-80 cm x 3-5 cm; flower white with pink or purple stripe in center
ethnobotany: bulb toxic
taxonomy: according to African Flowering Plant Database: excluded taxon, syn of a) C. kirkii Baker sensu Nordal in Norw. J. Bot.; b) C. ornatum (L.f. ex Aiton) Bury sensu Nordal in F.T.E.A , in Fl. du Cameroun & Fl. du Gabon; c) C. politifolium sensu Nordal in Norw. J. Bot)
Crinum.ornatum(zeylanicum).fl.Hom.JH.jpg
Crinum.ornatum(zeylanicum).Tupere.JH.jpg
image (Wiki): http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Crinum_ornatum_MS_4705.JPG
Crinum zeylanicum (see C. ornatum)
Pancratium
Pancratium tenuifolium
records: none (Boudet); possibly Walo (specimen sterile, similar to but smaller than P. trianthum) (JH)
notes: base of leaf pubescent; single bulb 2.5-5 cm wide, 1-5 leaves per bulb, folded (V-shape cross-section), 0.5-1 cm wide; flower white, with golden-yellow pollen; usually 1 flower per umbel; flowers in May
image (S Africa): http://www.penroc.co.za/plants.html
images (Zimbabwe): http://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/species.php?species_id=115150
specimen (Aluka): http://www.aluka.org/action/showContentImage?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.SPECIMEN.K000366058&pgs=
Pancratium trianthum
records: Timbuktu; Hombori, northern Dogon country (JH)
habitat: sand dunes
notes: plant glabrous; bulb around 4 cm thick; 5-15 leaves per bulb, 20-30 cm x 4-7 mm, rounded (U-shape cross-section); flowers white with pale yellow pollen; usually 2-3 flowers per umbel; flowers July-August
Pancratium.trianthum.entire.Songho.Jan2008.JH.JPG
Pancratium.trianthum.Hom.JH.jpg
flower.CIRAD http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/p/pancratium_trianthum
image.Algeria.Meignant http://pageperso.aol.fr/fmeignant/Pan.html
images.Algeria.SN http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=pancratium%20trianthum
Scadoxus
Scadoxus multiflorus
records: Ban Markala, Kouor, banks of Banifing (Boudet)
habitat: degraded brousse in shade, or forest galleries; widely cultivated in Europe etc
notes: rhizome or bulb; blood-red flowers; leaf lanceolate to oval; flower is umbel with more than 20 flowers
ethnobotany: bulb is highly toxic
image http://toptropicals.com/pics/garden/m1/kras/scadoxus_multiflorus098.jpg
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/s/scadoxus_multiflorus
(for Ameplocissus and Cissus, see Vitaceae)
trees; leaves alternate, often composite and imparipennate (Lannea, Sclerocarya, Spondias)
Anacardium
Anacardium occidentale (planted cashew tree)
habitat: common in towns
notes: juicy fruits are sucked and discarded; nuts not consumed
foliage & fruit http://www.nybg.org/bsci/belize/Anacardium_occidentale_fr.jpg
Virtual Field Herbarium http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/VFH/image/index.php?taxonomy=149&last=5
Lannea
Lannea acida
records: Bamako, Niono, between San and Segou (Boudet)
notes: tree 5-10 m, imparipennate leaf with 3-5 pairs of folioles which end in a long acuminate point; fruits similar to those of L. microcarpa but not as good to eat
Virtual Field Herbarium: http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/VFH/image/index.php?page=all&taxonomy=1209
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/l/lannea_acida
Lannea humilis
records: Kayes (Boudet)
notes: small tree to 3 m; imparipennate leaf with 6-9 pairs of folioles; leaf specimen could be confused for Commiphora pedunculata (Burseraceae) but the latter has dentations around the follioles; the photos for "Lannea humilis" in Arbonnier are actually of Lannea fruticosa, a somewhat similar sp.
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/l/lannea_humilis
specimen (Aluka): http://www.aluka.org/action/showContentImage?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.SPECIMEN.FHI0042754-0&pgs=
Lannea microcarpa
records: very common throughout the zone
habitat: hills
notes: tree; the common "raisin sauvage," fruits sold in markets (sucked with pit and skin spit out, or made into a juice or fermented into an alcoholic drink); imparipennate leaves with 2-4 pairs of folioles with obtuse tip
Virtual Field Herbarium: http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/VFH/image/index.php?taxonomy=1211&last=5
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/l/lannea_microcarpa
Mangifera
Mangifera indica (mango, planted)
images.Hawaii http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/mangifera_indica.htm
Ozoroa
Ozoroa insignis subsp. latifolia (ayn Heeria insignis [thus in Berhaut])
records: Bandiagara to Mopti, Kati, Yanfolila, Sanga (Boudet); collected at Boudou, not known in northeastern Dogon country (JH)
habitat: wooded savanna on laterite or gravel
notes: tree 3-5 m; leaves verticillate by 3-4; leaf elliptic-lanceolate 6-10 cm x 2-3 cm with 20-35 lateral nerves perpendicular to median nerve; shiny black berries in racemes
flower.CIRAD http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/o/ozoroa_insignis
specimen (Aluka): http://www.aluka.org/action/showContentImage?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.SPECIMEN.LISC001514&pgs=
Sclerocarya
Sclerocarya birrea
records: well-known from Gao to Dogon country (JH)
habitat: lateritic soil
notes: tree; imparipennate leave with 5-8 pairs of folioles, sometimes entire but often dentate; foliage bunched at ends of branches; yellow fruits are sucked or made into a beverage; oil extracted from seeds
Sclerocarya.birrea.2.Hom.JH.jpg
Sclerocarya.birrea.fr.Hom.JH.jpg
drawing (Aluka): http://www.aluka.org/action/showContentImage?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.VISUAL.KPAL00000003&pgs=
Spondias
Spondias mombin ("hog plum")
records: Djenne, Bamako, Sanga (Boudet); generally well-known in northern Dogon country (JH)
notes: tree; imparipennate leaf with 5-8 pairs of folioles; fruits (green then yellow when ripe) hang down in panicles, pulp can be sucked (and sold in markets) but rather acidic
Spondias.mombin.fl.Djen.JH.jpg
Spondias.mombin.fr.Anda.JH.jpg
images.Hawaii http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/spondias_mombin.htm
image (Wiki): http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Spondias_mombin_MS4005.JPG
trees; leaves alternate, fruits on peduncles just under base of leaves; flowers usually with 6 petals (3 external ones often distinct from 3 internal ones)
Annona
Annona reticulata (planted, introduced)
records: Douentza (planted)
notes: tree 5-8 m; leaf elliptical-lanceolate 10-15 cm x 3-5 cm
Annona.reticulata.1.cult.Douen.JH.jpg
Annona.reticulata.2.cult.Douen.JH.jpg
fruit (reddish) http://www.tropicalfruitnursery.com/images/Atemoya-B.jpg
images.Pacific http://www.hear.org/pier/imagepages/thumbnails/annona_reticulata.htm
fruit (greenish) http://i.pbase.com/g6/42/435942/2/81282009.qrMHzWd9.jpg
fruit (cross-section): http://picasaweb.google.com/machabuca/Fruits - 5036763410798790706
Annona senegalensis (two subspp.)
records: Bamako, Koulikoro, Gondo (south of Douentza)
habitat: psammophile (occupying cleared land)
notes: fruits edible
Annona.senegalensis.Kik.1.JH.jpg
Annona.senegalensis.Kik.2.JH.jpg
Annona.senegalensis.Kik.3.JH.jpg
foliage.and.fruit.Wiki http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Annona_senegalensis_Bild0878.jpg/800px-Annona_senegalensis_Bild0878.jpg
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/a/annona_senegalensis
images (Miura): http://ss.jircas.affrc.go.jp/project/africa_dojo/Fakara_plants/Contents/Species pages/Annonsen.html
Hexalobus
Hexalobus monopetalus
records: Mopti to Djenne, Macina, Sanga
habitat: rocky terrain
notes: tree 3-8 m; not known in Douentza or Hombori but familiar a bit farther south (edible fruits sold in markets like Sambere near Mopti); fruits are oblong carpels, 3-5 cm x 2 cm, orange-red at maturity
foliage.fruit.SAfr http://www.shop.sunshine-seeds.de/images/big/Hexalobus_monopetalus.jpg
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/h/hexalobus_monopelatus
drawing (Aluka): http://www.aluka.org/action/showMetadata?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.VISUAL.PREART0001465&pgs=
Monodora
Monodora myristica
notes: known in the zone in the form of nutmeg-like seeds ("calabash nutmeg" or "false nutmeg"), sold in markets (e.g. Douentza, Timbuktu) as a spice
ethnobotany: UPWTA 1.119-20
note: true nutmegs are Myristica spp., especially M. fragrans (Myristicaceae)
Uvaria
Uvaria chamae
records: Kita (Boudet); Kikara (JH)
habitat: soudanian, river banks
Xylopia
Xylopia aethiopica ("Negro pepper")
notes: tree does not occur in Mali; known in the form of dried and hardened blackish fruits (pod-like carpels, English name "grains of Selim"), sold in markets as a spice (with peppery taste) or medication
Xylopia.aethiopica.spice.JH.jpg
fruits (spice): http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Xylo_aet.html
[monocots; part of a ex-Liliaceae cluster variably organized into Agavaceae, Dracaenaceae, and Asparagaceae]
Chlorophytum (orchid-like)
Chlorophytum gallabatense (syn C. bequaertii [thus Boudet])
records: Macina (Boudet); Kikara (JH, if correctly identified)
habitat: rocky crevice (JH)
Chlorophytum.cf.gallabatense.Kik.1.JH.jpg
Chlorophytum.cf.gallabatense.Kik.2.JH.jpg
specimen (Aluka): http://www.aluka.org/action/showContentImage?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.SPECIMEN.K000256867&pgs=
another specimen (Aluka): http://www.aluka.org/action/showContentImage?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.SPECIMEN.FT000722&pgs=
Chlorophytum blepharophyllum
Virtual Field Herbarium http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/VFH/image/index.php?taxonomy=117&last=5
herbs, generally cultivated as spices; also some wild spp. in Sahara
tiny flowers grouped into distinctive "umbels"
both family names are currently "allowed" by ICBN
UPWTA 5 pp. 227 ff. as Umbelliferae
Ammodaucus
Ammodaucus leucotrichus (cultivated or wild)
records: Timbuktu (cultivated) (Boudet)
notes: seeds sold in Timbuktu, Gao, Hombori, Douentza, etc. as a spice (e.g. for tea) or medication
images.Algeria http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=ammodaucus%20leucotrichus
Anethum
Anethum graveolens (cultivated dill)
plant in flower http://www.milkandhoneyfarm.com/garden/images/dill.jpg
dill seed http://www.sproutpeople.com/docs/pics/dill.seed.cu.jpg
images.Algeria http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=anethum%20graveolens
Cuminum
Cuminum cyminum (cultivated cumin)
records: none (Boudet); Timbuktu (cultivated) (JH)
notes: cuminseed is a common spice in Timbuktu cuisine, often used in combination with anise (as in Biblical times, see Matthew 23:23); called maafejje in Koyra Chiini
drawing.Wiki http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Koeh-198.jpg
flower & fruit http://www.hyakka-saen.com/kumin/kumin1.jpg
seed http://www.advanced-group.com.eg/media/Products/cumin%20seeds.jpg
Daucus
Daucus carota (cultivated carrots)
Foeniculum
Foeniculum vulgare (cultivated fennel)
records: none (Boudet); UPWTA 5.232 gives Mali Arabic term "besbes"; none (JH)
image http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/pictures/foen_04.jpg
drawing http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/pictures/foen_04.jpg
images.Hawaii http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/foeniculum_vulgare.htm
fennel seed: http://www.alibaba.com/catalog/11077667/Fennel_Seed_Variyali_.html
Pimpinella
Pimpinella anisum (cultivated anise)
records: none (Boudet); Timbuktu (cultivated) (JH)
notes: anise seed is a common spice in Timbuktu cuisine, often used in combination with cumin; called alhalawa in Koyra Chiini (< Arabic term meaning ?sweet one')
flower http://pharm1.pharmazie.uni-greifswald.de/systematik/7_bilder/coolpix/cp000120.jpg
anise seed: http://www.alibaba.com/catalog/11207510/Anise_Seed.html
(see also Asclepiadaceae, which is classified as a subfamily of Apocynaceae in AGP II)
shrubs or woody lianas, with latex; leaves opposite or verticillate, entire; flowers have tubular base; fruits usually paired
Adenium
Adenium obesum
records: Nioro (Boudet); none (JH)
habitat: somewhat inundated depressions
notes: tree 2-3 m; latex translucid; leaves in spiral, base cuneiform, rounded at top
images.Hawaii http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/adenium_obesum.htm
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/a/adenium_obesum
Baissea
Baissea multiflora (resembles Strophanthus)
records: Bamako, Yanfolila (Boudet); Kikara (JH)
notes: woody, bushy liana; latex white; leaves opposite with flowers in axillary racemes around end of branch; abundant pink-white flowers with 5 narrow lobes; calyx has filiform teeth
Baissea.multiflora.spcA2.JH.jpg
specimen (Aluka): http://www.aluka.org/action/showContentImage?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.SPECIMEN.MO-100111&pgs=
Landolphia
Landolphia heudelotii
records: Kati, Markakamgo to Dogouni (Bandiagara) (Boudet); none (JH)
notes: scrambling shrub 2-5 m, or liana up to 15 m with tendrils; latex white; leaves opposite with terminal flower panicle; fruit is yellow-orange, spherical
ethnobotany: fruit edible
leaf.flower.CIRAD http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/l/landolphia_heudelotii
Saba
Saba senegalensis (two varieties), local French zaban
records: widespread and well-known throughout the area (JH)
notes: large woody liana tangled with trees or other lianas in thickets; latex white; fruit is well-known, with leathery outside and pulp-covered seeds inside
ethnobotany: seeds made into beverages or sucked
leaf.fruit.Wiki http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Saba_senegalensis_MS_1367.JPG
flower.CIRAD http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/s/saba_senegalensis
Strophanthus
Strophanthus sarmentosus
records: Bamako, Kita (Boudet); Anda village betw Douentza & Bandiagara (JH)
habitat: rocky or gravelly soil
notes: scrambling shrub, forms dense patches among boulders; latex translucent; distinctive flower in late dry season when tree is defoliated, 5 lobes with extensions hanging down
ethnbotany: formerly used in Burkina Faso for arrow poison (this function apparently not known to northern Dogon)
Strophanthus.sarmentosus.entire.Anda.JH.jpg
Strophanthus.sarmentosus.fl.Anda.JH.jpg
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/s/strophantus_sarmentosus
[monocots; flowers are on a type of inflorescence called a spadix (small flowers crowded on a thickened, fleshy axis), which is accompanied by and sometimes enclosed in a spathe (leaf-like hood]
Amorphophallus
Amorphophallus aphyllus
records: Bamako, Yanfolila (Boudet); none (JH)
habitat: gravelly soil
image.entire http://www.aroid.org/genera/amorphophallus/aphyllus/aphyllusHAM010Leaf.jpg
flower http://www.aroid.org/genera/amorphophallus/aphyllus/aphyllusFlowering1.jpg
specimen (Aluka): http://www.aluka.org/action/showContentImage?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.SPECIMEN.K000345946&pgs=
Amorphophallus baumannii ("yellow arum"; syn A. flavovirens)
records: none (Boudet); Douentza area (JH)
habitat: inselbergs
notes: striking plant with "webbed" leaves, long yellow spadix to 30 cm emerging from leafy spathe; powerful odor; specimens with flowers deteriorate rapidly
Amorphophallus.baumannii(flavovirens).fl.Walo.JH.jpg
Amorphophallus.baumannii(flavovirens).planted.Kubewel.JH.jpg
specimen (type of A. flavovirens): http://www.aluka.org/action/showContentImage?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.SPECIMEN.K000345949&pgs=
Amorphophallus flavovirens (see A. baumannii)
Colocasia
Colocasia esculenta (cultivated taro)
plant http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/filelibrary/5455/4535.jpg
root (yam) http://images1.comstock.com/Imagewarehouse/BX/SITECS/NLWMCompingVersions/28751-29000/bxp28755.jpg
images.Hawaii http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/colocasia_esculenta.htm
Pistia
Pistia stratiotes ("water lettuce", "salade aquatique")
records: Djenne, Sanga (Boudet)
habitat: stagnant ponds, including man-made ponds in villages, also Mopti-Sevare (JH)
notes: distinctive floating "water lettuce"
Pistia.stratiotes.1.Djen.JH.jpg
Pistia.stratiotes.2.Djen.JH.jpg
Pistia.stratiotes.pond.Anda.JH.jpg
images.Hawaii http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/pistia_stratiotes.htm
flower (CIRAD, misspelled): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/p/pistia_stratioides
images (Singapore): http://www.natureloveyou.sg/Pistia stratiotes/Main.html
Stylochiton (also spelled Stylochaeton)
Stylochiton lancifolius (syn S. warneckei, synonymy uncertain)
records: Tiediana (Boudet); Hombori, Douentza (JH)
habitat: open spots in wooded savanna
notes: low plant, distinctive long dark green leaves with undulating edges, radiating outwards from plant like some "wild onions"
Stylochiton.lancifolius.infertile.JH.jpg
ex-family Lemnaceae ("duckweeds," small floating plants)
website with further links:
http://www.mobot.org/jwcross/duckweed/duckpix.htm
Lemna
Lemna aequinoctialis (syn L. paucicostata)
records: Timbuktu, Mopti, Dioliba (Boudet)
habitat: floating
reference: Kandeler & Huegel, Plant Syst. Evol. 123: 83-96 (1974)
image (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/l/lemna_aequinoctialis
Lemna paucicostata (see L. aequinoctialis)
Pseudowolffia (see Wolffiella hyalina)
Wolffia [the smallest of all flowering plants, look like dots of cornmeal on water]
Wolffia arrhiza
records: Boudet (none)
image (Wiki): http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:WolffiaArrhiza1.jpg
Wolffia welwitschii (see Wolffiopsis welwitschii)
Wolffiella [reassigned by some to Wolffiopsis and Pseudowolffia]
Wolffiella hyalina (syn Pseudowolffia hyalina, Lemna hyalina)
records: Djenne
habitat: floating
taxonomy: African Flowering Plants Database accepts Wolffiella hyalina rather than Pseudowolffia
Wolffiella welwitschii (syn Wolffiopsis welwitschii, Wolffia welwitschii)
records: plain of Bani R. (Boudet)
habitat: floating
Wolffiopsis (see Wolffiella welwitschii)
Cussonia
Cussonia arborea (in Berhaut as C. barteri var. kirkii, also syn C. kirkii)
records: Yanfolila, forest near Bamako, Sikasso (Boudet); none (JH)
notes: tree 5-10 m
flower.CIRAD http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/c/cussonia_arborea
Cussonia barteri (see C. arborea)
palms [monocots]
Borassus
Borassus aethiopum
records: more southerly than Hyphaene, northern limit around Douentza, becoming the common palm in central Dogon country and points south (JH)
habitat: solitary, savanna
notes: single massive straight trunk
ethnobotany: logs sold even north of its range as a roof beam for housing; fruits sold in markets (orange pulp)
Borassus.aethiopum.entire.JH.jpg
Borassus.aethiopum.Djen.JH.jpg
Borassus.aethiopum_Songho_01_2008_fruits_on_tree_JH.jpg
Borassus.aethiopum.fruit.open.orange.mesocarp.sold.JH.JPG
Hyphaene
Hyphaene thebaica ("doum palm")
records: the common native palm of Gao and Hombori; overlaps with Borassus in the Douentza area, but doesn't go much farther south than that
habitat: forms stands in moist sandy areas
notes: several slender crooked trunks typically emerge from same base
ethnobotany: fronds used for weaving fans and mats; segments of fruits can be sucked
Hyphaene.thebaica.Fombori.12.06.JH.jpg
Hyphaene.thebaica.shoot.Djen.JH.jpg
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/h/hyphaene_thebaica
Phoenix
Phoenix dactylifera (planted true date palm)
records: planted in and around villages for harvesting of dates
notes: a type of sweet-sour hard yellow date is well-known in Hombori (local Songhay name: hargaajo); high-quality dates are also imported from Algeria
images.Algeria http://pageperso.aol.fr/fmeignant/Pheonix.html
images.Algeria.SN http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=phoenix%20dactylifera
images.Hawaii http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/phoenix_dactylifera.htm
Aristolochia
Aristolochia albida (compare with Tinospora bakis, Menispermaceae)
records: Kanikombole
habitat: savanna (Boudet); thickets on slope of inselbergs, e.g. Kikara (JH)
notes: woody liana; broad cordate leaves (cf. Tinospora); fruits easily distinguished (dry hard decumbent pod for Aristolochia, red berries for Tinospora); leaf has two lateral nerves rising nearly to summit on the sides of the central nerve
ethnobotany: roots medicinal but bitter-tasting (cf. Tinospora)
Aristolochia.albida.fr.Kik.spcA2.JH.jpg
Aristolochia.albida.fr(on.Saba).Kik.JH (hanging fruit lower right)
herbs and shrubs with latex (white or s.t. translucent)
fruits generally long and thin, containing seeds with "feathers"
in AGP II, now treated as a subfamily of Apocynaceae (Asclepiadoideae)
genera organized here by subfamilies:
Stapeliae [succulents] (Caralluma, Orbea)
Asclepiadeae (most species)
Periplocaceae (Raphionacme, Tacazzea)
subfamily Stapelieae (succulents)
gallery of stepeliad flowers http://www.hanacek.wz.cz/gallery/index.html
Caralluma (leafless, cactus-like succulents; see also Orbea)
Caralluma acutangula (many synonyms; in Boudet as Desmidorchis acutangula, in Berhaut as Caralluma retrospiciens, in UPWTA 1.224 as Caralluma russeliana; an earlier term is Caralluma tombuctuensis)
records: Sanga, Goundam, Timbuktu (Boudet); Hombori-Douentza area (JH)
habitat: sandy spots among boulders or in stony shelves
notes: to 1 meter or higher; long, robust stems, roughly quadrangular, much wider than those of C. dalzielli
ethnobotany: latex poisonous (used by Songhay to kill dogs), cf. UPWTA 1.224
Caralluma.acutangula.Tupere.JH.jpg
Caralluma adscendens (syn C. dalzielli)
records: Sanga, Timbuktu (Boudet); Hombori-Douentza area (JH)
habitat: sandy spots among boulders
notes: 10 to 30 cm high; long stems, much more slender than those of C. acutangula
taxonomy: from African Flowering Plant Database
ethnobotany: often regarded as toxic. "However, the stems are reported crushed and eaten raw as a tonic and stimulant for faintness..." (UPWTA 1.223)
Caralluma.adscendens(dalzielii).Homb.JH.jpg
flower http://www.hanacek.wz.cz/gallery/index.html
Caralluma dalzielli (see C. adscendens)
Caralluma decaisneana (see Orbea decaisneana)
Caralluma edulis (syn Caralluma mouretii)
records: none (Boudet); Mauritania and Morocco (UPWTA 1.223, C. mouretii)
habitat: dry sandy areas
notes: succulent to 30 cm
ethnobotany: said to be edible raw (UPWTA 1.224)
flower http://www.hanacek.wz.cz/gallery/index.html
Caralluma mouretii (see C. edulis)
Caralluma retrospiciens (see C. acutangula)
Caralluma russelliana (see C. acutangula)
Caralluma tombuctuensis (see C. acutangula)
Ceropegia spp. (twining vines)
Desmidorchis (see Caralluma acutangula)
Orbea
Orbea decaisneana (syn Caralluma decaisneana)
records: Djenne (Boudet)
habitat: dunes
notes: 10-20 cm; has conspicuous pointed protrusions up and down stem in four columns (opposite 2 x 2)
taxonomy: African Flowering Plant Database (for North Africa)
image.entire http://members.tripod.com/kaktusmert20/asclepiad/Caralluma/Caralluma_decaisneana_cristata.jpg
flower http://yann.cochard.free.fr/images/12/1243.jpg
subfamily Asclepiadeae
tribes:
Asclepiadinae (mostly erect, tuberous roots)
Calotropis, Pergularia, Xysmalobium
Astephaninae
Pentatropis
Glossonematinae
Glossonema, Solenostemma
Metastelmatinae
Cynanchum, Oxystelma, Sarcostemma
Calotropis
Calotropis procera
records: widespread throughout the zone, native and planted (to stabilize roadsides or dunes)
notes: shrub usually 2-4 m; white latex; unmistakable milkweed-like broad leaves
Calotropis.procera.fr.Kik.11.06
images.Hawaii http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/calotropis_procera.htm
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/c/calotropis_procera
images.Algeria http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=calotropis%20procera
Cynanchum
Cynanchum hastifolium
notes: semi-woody, scrambling liana; leaf foliage specimens may be confused with those of Leptadenia hastata (as the botanical name suggests); flowers fasciculate, in interaxillary glomerules, pedicels 8-12 mm long; fruits are long and thin (fusiform), in pairs, 8-10 cm x 1.2-1.5 cm
Cynanchum.hastifolium.fr.Kik.spcA2.JH.jpg
Glossonema
Glossonema boveanum
-- subsp. boveanum (in Boudet as G. boveanum)
records: Gao, Kidal
notes: herb with perennial semi-woody roots to 30 cm tall; leaves roughly in elongated triangular shape with petioles to 1.5 cm; fruit 1.5-3.5 cm x 1.5 cm with thorny protrusions
-- subsp. nubicum (in Boudet as G. nubicum)
records: Macina, Timbuktu, Bore, Bamako, San, Nioro (Boudet)
ethnobotany: "The plant is edible raw, especially the young flowering top and fruits." (UPWTA 1.226)
Glossonema.boveanum.TinH.JH.jpg
Glossonema.boveanum.lf.TinH.spcA2.JH.jpg
images(G.boveanum).Algeria http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=glossonema%20boveanum
Glossonema indicum
records: none (Boudet)
Glossonema.?nd?cum.spc(Montp).JH.jpg
Glossonema nubicum (see G. boveanum subsp. nubicum)
Leptadenia
Leptadenia arborea
records: Tasegdem (Boudet); evidently a sp. of the far Saharan north
habitat: in scrub vegetation
notes: woody liana
Leptadenia hastata
records: widespread and common from Timbuktu-Gao to northern Dogon country (JH)
habitat: common on low shrubs (Boscia senegalensis, Leptadenia pyrotechnica)
notes: spreading or partially climbing vine; leaves highly variable
ethnobotany: fruits are sucked
Leptadenia.hastata.fr.Djen.spcA2.JH.jpg
Leptadenia.hastata.fr.Djen.JH.jpg
Leptadenia.hastata_fl_Namakoro_07.JH.jpg
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/l/leptadenia_hastata
Leptadenia pyrotechnica
records: widespread and common from Timbuktu-Gao to northern Dogon country (JH)
habitat: sand, including dunes
notes: leafless, ranging from a grass-like bush (resembling Aristida spp. from a distance) to a shrub with woody base
ethnobotany: fruits are sucked; planted in Timbuktu to stabilize sand around houses
Leptadenia.pyrotechnica.Hom.JH.jpg
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/l/leptadenia_pyrotechnica
Oxystelma
Oxystelma bornouense
records: Dire to Bandiagara, Dari (Diafarabe), Sofara (Boudet)
habitat: riverbanks, likes sun
notes: liana with perennial roots, stems generally herbaceous (not woody); leaves variable, often oblong lanceolate (cf. Ipomoea vagans, Convolvulaceae), 3-6 cm long; petiole 5-15 mm; petiole and young stems pubescent; large pretty white flowers 3 cm wide with 5 triangular lobes; fruits are air-filled pods, rather wide, 4-5 cm x 3-4 cm, often paired (joined at base)
Pentatropis
Pentatropis nivalis (in Berhaut and UPWTA 1.234 as P. spiralis)
records: Gourma Rharous, Gao
habitat: thickets in sandy areas, beds of seasonal streams
notes: woody twining liana, perennial roots; leaf oblong or oval-elliptical 3-6 cm x 1-3 cm; summit rounded, mucronate tip; long fusiform fruit 5-6 cm x 1 cm, thickest near base then quickly thinning, with long pointed tip; grains with silky "feather"
reference: L. Boulos, Flora of Egypt vol 2 p. 222
Pentatropis.nivalis.spc(Montp).JH.jpg
Pentatropis spiralis (see P. nivalis)
Pergularia
Pergularia daemia
records: Gao, Timbuktu, Sanga, Dire to Bandiagara (Boudet)
habitat: rocky debris
notes: small liana with perennial roots, herbaceous stems, abundant white latex; broad cordiform leaf (cf. Tinospora bakis [Menispermaceae], Aristolichia albida [Aristolochiaceae], Cissus populnea [Vitaceae], Ipomoea acanthocarpa [Convolvulaceae]), 4-7 cm wide and large, base deeply cordate (two sides nearly touching); soft hairs on entire plant; fruits are paired follicles joined at base, usually with surface rugosities, facing roughly in opposite directions
fruit http://homepage.univie.ac.at/Christian.Puff/images/ETH-4538_(Strophanthus).jpg
Pergularia tomentosa
records: Gao, Sanga, Adrar (Boudet); locally common from Hombori to Douentza (JH)
habitat: rocky areas
notes: low bushy plant with woody root-stock; has blue-green overall color
ethnobotany: widely used to depilate animal hides
Pergularia.tomentosa.fr.Walo.10.06.JPG
Pergularia.tomentosa.Hom.spcA2.JH.JPG
Pergularia.tomentosa.fl.Songho.Jan2008.JH.JPG
images.Miura http://ss.jircas.affrc.go.jp/project/africa_dojo/Fakara_plants/Contents/images/Pergutom.jpg
images.Algeria.SN http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=pergularia%20tomentosa
image (Libya): http://www.ecliptomaniacs.com/2006/florafauna/pictures/DSCN0059bs.jpg
Sarcostemma
Sarcostemma viminale
records: San, Segou (Boudet); Douentza area (JH)
habitat: rocks, dry savanna
notes: scrambling vine covering low bushes, forming a "spaghetti" like network (cf. Cassytha filiformis, Lauraceae)
Sarcostemma.viminale.2.Kik.JH.jpg
Sarcostemma.viminale.fl.Kik.JH.jpg
Solenostemma
Solenostemma argel
records: Tin Zaouatene (Mali-Algeria) border (Boudet "a confirmer" for Mali)
Solenostemma.argel.spc(Montp).JH.jpg
images.Algeria.SN http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=solenostemma%20argel
Xysmalobium
Xysmalobium heudelotianum
records: Kati
habitat: millet fields, cleared areas
notes: herbaceous plant with perennial stem; stems 15-80 cm high; white latex; leaf linear or oblong linear 5-10 cm x 0.8-2 cm, base and tip rounded; 8-12 pairs of nerves; short petiole 2-6 mm; small yellow-green flowers close to petioles (sessile or with peduncles of 1-3 cm), alternately on left or right of stem; very long fusiform fruits 15-20 cm x 1 cm (at middle), acuminate tip; large underground tuber either elongated or ovoid 2-4 cm wide, 4-8 cm long
ethnobotany: "The small tuberous root is lactiferous. It is cooked and eaten in N Nigeria for stomach troubles..." (UPWTA 1.241)
Xysmalobium.heudelotianum.fr.Hom.spcA2.JH.jpg
Xysmalobium.heudelotianiam_spc_fr
subfamily Periplocaceae (or Periplocoideae, Periploceae)
(recognized as family in Boudet; combined with Asclepiadaceae in Berhaut)
Brachystelma bingeri (see Raphionacme bingeri)
Raphionacme
Raphionacme bingeri (in Berhaut as R. daronii; in UPWTA 1.218 with query under Brachystelma bingeri)
habitat: shade of tall trees
notes: foliage in May, flowers June-July; large potato-like tuber (eaten uncooked)
Raphionacme.bingeri.lf.Kik.spcA2.JH.jpg
Raphionacme.bingeri.spc04-270.Anda.JH.jpg
Raphionacme daronii (see R. bingeri)
Tacazzea
Tacazzea apiculata
records: Bandiagara, Sanga, San, Koulikoro
notes: semi-woody liana; opposite leaves 10-15 cm x 6-10 cm, top rounded but with tiny apiculate point; petiole 2-5 cm; petiole and stem finely pubescent; flowers in short axillary panicle 5-7 cm with opposite ramifications; fruits paired, joined at ends and facing in opposite directions, 5 cm x 2 cm
flower http://www.sementes.de/shop/images/medium/tacazzea_apiculata.jpg
Virtual Field Herbarium http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/VFH/image/index.php?taxonomy=473&last=5
(monocots; also includes Hyacinthaceae and/or Agavaceae in some classifications)
Asparagus [in Boudet under Alliaceae]
Asparagus flagellaris
records: San, Niono, Bamako (Boudet); Kikara, Douentza area (JH)
habitat: moist zones
notes: scrambling vine with brittle needle-like leaves
Asparagus.flagellaris.Kikara.JH.jpg
Asparagus.flagellaris.spcA2.JH.jpg
foliage.Congo http://users.telenet.be/sf16063/pauwels/AspaFlag.JPG
(monocots; family recognized by APG II, but optionally subsumed under Xanthorrhoeaceae; previously included under Aloaceae or broad Liliaceae)
Aloe
Aloe buettneri
records: southern Mali (Boudet); Douentza area (JH)
notes: succulent stems (cf. Caralluma)
in Berhaut vol 2 as Composées
flowers of two types cluster together in a capitulum (like daisy): 1) infertile ligulate (ray) flowers on the outside, and 2) fertile disk flowers in a corolla tube on the inside
leaves composite: Ambrosia, Bidens
leaves alternate with these exceptions
leaves opposite, with ring around stem (most of tribe Heliantheae)
leaves emerge all around stem: Vernonia perrottetti
base of leaves: (* = in part)
sessile or attenuated at base: Acanthospermum, Aspilia, *Bidens, Dicoma, Eclipta, Gnaphalium, Helichrysum, Herderia, Picris, Vernonia
clearly petiolate: Ageratum, *Bidens, Blainvillea, *Blumea, Synedrella, Tridax
auriculate or leaf-wings extending to stem: *Blumea, Centaurea, Ceruana, Conyza, Grangea, Launaea, Pentanema, Pseudoconyza, Pulicaria, Senecio, Sonchus
extend as "wings" down stem: Sphaeranthus spp.
flower colors: (* = in part)
red/pink: Dicoma, Launaea, Pseudoconyza, *Vernonia
mauve: *Centaurea, Litogyne
purple/violet: Aspilia (dark red purple), Herderia (dark violet), Sphaeranthus, *Vernonia
blue: Ageratum, *Vernonia
greenish: Helichrysum
yellow: Acanthospermum, Asteriscus, Bidens, Ceruana, Conyza, Cotula, Grangea, Pentanema, Picris, Pulicaria, Senecio, Sonchus, Synedrella, Tridax
yellow & white: *Bidens, Gnaphalium
white: Aspilia, Blainvillea, *Centaurea, Tridax (may be cream)
subfamily Cichorioideae
tribes:
Cardueae: Centaurea, Echinops (alternatively Cynareae)
Lactuceae: Lactuca, Launaea, Picris, Sonchus
Mutisieae: Dicoma
Vernonieae: Herderia, Vernonia
(also: Arctotideae, Eremothamneae, Liabeae, Tarchonantheae)
subfamily Asteroideae
tribes:
Anthemideae: Cotula
Astereae: Ceruana, Conyza, Grangea
Eupatoriae: Ageratum
Gnaphaliae: Epaltes, Gnaphalium, Helichrysum
Heliantheae: a) leaves opposite (usually with ring around stem at base of leaves): Acanthospermum, Aspilia, Bidens, Blainvillea, Eclipta, Synedrella, Tridax
b) leaves alternate: Ambrosia, Chrysanthellum
Inuleae: Asteriscus, Blumea, Francoeuria, Pegolettia, Pentanema, Pulicaria
Plucheae: Sphaeranthus
Senecioneae: Kleinia, Senecio
(also: Calenduleae, Heleniae, Tageteae)
Acanthospermum
Acanthspermum hispidum (introduced)
records: Bamako, Koulikoro, Segou (Boudet); Douentza and Boni areas (JH)
habitat: sandy or clayey-sandy (Boudet); common weed around fields (JH)
notes: erect herb forming dense low stands around fields; leaves opposite; leaf sessile, obovate, attenuated at the base which connects to a ring around stem, where the sessile flower/fruit is placed and where the stem forms a binary branch; stem hairy; thorny extensions on flowers and fruits; male flowers yellow
Acanthospermum.hispidum.lf.Douen.JH,jpg
Acanthospermum.hispidum.Kik.JH.jpg
Acanthospermum.hispidum.Songho.entire.burgu.joN.Jan.2008.JH.JPG
Acanthospermum.hispidum.Songho.fr.burgu.joN.Jan.2008.JH.JPG
images.Pacific http://www.hear.org/pier/imagepages/thumbnails/acanthospermum_hispidum.htm
Ageratum
Ageratum conyzoides subsp. conyzoides (introduced) ("billygoat weed")
records: Bamako, Dire, Segou (Boudet)
habitat: wet areas, semi-swampland, anthropic (weed)
notes: annual to 20-40 cm; leaf oval 5-8 cm x 4-6 cm, petiole 2-5 cm; leaves and stems pubescent; pale blue flowers in capitula 3-5 mm wide in erect terminal panicles
reference: Adventrop
flower.CIRAD http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/a/ageratum_conyzoides
images http://www.rain-tree.com/Plant-Images/ageratum-pic.htm
images.Hawaii http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/ageratum_conyzoides.htm
Ambrosia
Ambrosia maritima
records: San, Djenne, Kabara, Djenne, Bandiagara to Mopti, Gao (Boudet)
habitat: humid zones
notes: perennial bushy herb to 1 m; alternate composite leaves with many deep lobes on folioles (cf. Bidens bipinnata); yellow-green flowers in small capitula grouped in spiciform panicles at tip of stem
Ambrosia.maritima.entire.Labbez.JH.jpg
Ambrosia.maritima.Kabara.spcA2.JH.jpg
Artemisia
Artemisia judaica subsp. sahariensis
ethnobotany: sold as a spice or medicinal powder in Timbuktu
images.Algeria http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=artemisia%20judaica
Aspilia
Aspilia kotschyi (var. kotschyi and var. alba)
records: var. kotschyi: San, Segou, Nioro; var. alba: Nioro
habitat: moist areas during rainy season
notes: annual to 70 cm; sessile leaves opposite (by 2), with a ring around the stem at base; leaf lanceolate, attenuated at each end, 12-20 cm x 1-3 cm; 5-7 lateral nerves; two offshoot stems separate from main stem at each ring; white hairs with violet bases cover rough stems (giving appearance of violet dots); terminal sessile flowers (dark red-purple, except white in var. alba)
flower.Congo http://www.nzenzeflowerspauwels.be/AspiKots.jpg
flower.CIRAD http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/a/aspilia_kotschyi
Asteriscus
Asteriscus graveolens (syn Bubonium graveolens) (not in Berhaut) (resembles Pulicaria incisa)
records: El Guettara (Boudet), i.e. Sahara (also across North Africa)
notes: daisy like open flowers; inner and ligulate flowers all yellow
images.CanaryIslands http://www.floradecanarias.com/asteriscus_graveolens.html
images.Algeria http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=asteriscus%20graveolens
image (Libya): http://www.ecliptomaniacs.com/2006/florafauna/pictures/DSCN0183bs.jpg
Bidens
Bidens bipinnata (not in Berhaut)
records: Sokolo (Boudet)
habitat: humid areas, near settlements
notes: composite leaf with about 7 sections, each section deeply lobed (cf. Ambrosia); flowers yellow (in Missouri images)
images.Missouri http://www.missouriplants.com/Yellowopp/Bidens_bipinnata_page.html
images.Pacific http://www.hear.org/pier/imagepages/thumbnails/bidens_bipinnata.htm
Bidens biternata
records: none (Boudet)
notes: annual herb to 1 m; composite leaf, opposite (by 2), resembles that of B. bipinnata but each foliole has dentations rather than deep lobes; petiole 4-10 cm with large gutter above; yellow flowers in terminal capitula to 1.2 cm wide
Bidens borianiana (in Berhaut as Coreopsis borianiana)
records: Koulikoro, San, Bandiagara to Mopti, Nioro (Boudet)
habitat: moist savanna
notes: annual herb to 1 m or higher; distinctive leaves: sessile, opposite, trifoliate (less often simple), each foliole elliptical-lanceolate 5-10 cm x 0.5-1.5 cm with acute tip, border of folioles with many sharp dentations 5-10 mm apart; yellow daisy-like flowers 5-7 cm wide
Bidens engleri
records: none (Boudet); Kikara (if correctly identified)
habitat: forest galleries
notes: leaves opposite; each leaf trifoliate (occasionally simple), with large dentations, terminal foliole also may have lobes; petiole 2-4 cm; small yellow flowers in capitula 6-7 mm x 4-5 mm
Bidens.engleri.fl.Kik.spcA2.JH.jpg
Bidens.engleri.Kik.spcA2.JH.jpg
Bidens pilosa (not in Berhaut)
records: Kita (Boudet)
reference: Adventrop
notes: daisy-like flower (white ligulate flowers around yellow inner flowers)
flower.CanaryIslands http://www.biologie.uni-regensburg.de/Botanik/Schoenfelder/kanaren/images/Bidens_pilosa.jpg
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/b/bidens_pilosa
images.Hawaii http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/bidens_pilosa.htm
Blainvillea
Blainvillea gayana
records: Labbezanga, Bore, Gosi, Ouan Foras
habitat: humid areas
notes: herb to 60 cm; opposite leaves oval 7-12 cm x 5-8 cm, widest about 1/3 of way up, ending in acuminate point; petiole 2-6 cm; fine network of secondary nerves; quadrangular stem with rounded edges and with furrows; white tubular flowers in oblong capitula 1 cm long, arranged in panicles with multiple three-part branchings
Bainvillea.gayana.Kik.tol.entire.11.06.JH.jpg
Blainvillea.gayana.Kik.tol.fr.11.06
Blainvillea.gayana.fl.Kik.spcA2.JH.jpg
images.Pacific http://www.hear.org/pier/imagepages/thumbnails/blainvillea_gayana.htm
Blumea
Blumea aurita (see Pseudoconyza viscosa)
Blumea axillaris (in Berhaut as B. mollis, also syn B. solidaginoides)
records: Bamako, Tabako (Boudet for B. solidaginoides)
habitat: savanna
notes: annual or biennial to 30-80 cm; base of plant with rosette of leaves; leaf obovate-elliptical or elliptical 8-15 cm x 2-5 cm, usually not lobed but with dentations; leaf pubescent on both sides (becoming glabrous on top later); variably sessile or with petiole 1-1.5 cm; stem fluted with fine pubescence; compact terminal inflorescences in short racemes around 2-5 cm, flowers mauve, not opening up
taxonomy: Boudet gives B. mollis as syn of B. solidaginoides; African Flowering Plant Database gives B. mollis as syn of B. dregeanoides , and B. solidaginoides as syn of B. axillaris; Westeran Australian Florabase gives B. axillaris as current, with synonyms B. mollis and B. solidaginoides; Berhaut has only B. mollis]
Blumea.axillaris.Sevare.fl.Jan2008.JH.JPG
Blumea.axillaris.Sevare.lf.Jan2008.JH.JPG
Blumea.axillaris.young.Hom.JH.jpg
Blumea dregeanoides (see taxonomic note on B. axillaris)
Blumea laciniata
records: Bamako to Segou (Boudet)
notes: annual or biennial to 30-100 cm; leaf elliptical or obovate-elliptical 8-15 x 3-6 cm, barely pubescent (except on nerves); petiole 1-1.5 cm; yellow flowers, open capitula 8-10 mm wide with linear bracts
Blumea mollis (see B. axillaris)
Blumea solidaginoides (see B. axillaris)
Blumea viscosa (see Pseudoconyza viscosa)
Bubonium (see Asteriscus graveolens)
Centaurea
Centaurea perrottetii
records: Bamako, Kita, Macina (Boudet)
habitat: sand
notes: perennial herb, ramified from base up, to 15-50 cm; polymorphic depending on habitat; long dentate or lobed leaves 10-15 cm x 3-5 cm, tomentose, whitish; leaf very thin at base but no true petiole; flowers in capitulum 1-2 cm wide constitutes by numerous thorny bracts 2-3 cm long, each with two tiny thorns on each side of its base; flowers mauve, on short peduncles
Centaurea.perrottetii.Hom.JH.jpg
Centaurea.perrottetii.spcA2.JH.jpg
Centaurea.perrottetii.fr.spcA2.JH.jpg
Centaurea pungens (not in Berhaut)
records: none (Boudet); Saharan species
notes: thorny bracts as for C. perrottetii
images.Algeria http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=centaurea%20pungens
Centaurea senegalensis
records: Timbuktu, Kabara, In Ouri (Boudet)
habitat: dunes
notes: each thorny bract has three to seven tiny thorns at their bases; flowers pale mauve, or white
ethnobotany: Berhaut comments that C. perrottetii is "generalement confondue" by natives with C. senegalensis
Ceruana
Ceruana pratensis
records: Djenne, Macina, Bamako [Boudet]
habitat: river banks, drying out clayey swamp lands
notes: annual herb to 30-60 cm; unique sessile leaves 4-10 cm x 2-6 cm, base auriculate, thin toward base then expanding, with some lobes in middle and upper parts (no dentations or sharp edges); tubular yellow flowers half hidden by leaf-like bracts
Conyza
Conyza aegyptiaca var. aegyptiaca
records: Boukarila (Boudet)
habitat: ruderal
notes: annual or biennial to 15-80 cm, sometimes not branching; leaf sessile, dentate or with moderately deep lobes, leaf attenuated at base (but no true petiole); cylindrical stem; whole plant very pubescent; yellow flowers in partially opening capitula to 1 cm wide, many linear filiform bracts
taxonomy: Boudet suggests possible inclusion in genus Erigeron (since the sp. is omitted in Wild, les Conyza d'Afrique (1969))
drawing http://digitalis.mobot.org/mrsid/QK98J3151770V3/fullsize/QK98J3151770V3_0092.jpg
Coreopsis borianina (see Bidens borianina)
Cotula
Cotula cinerea (syn Brochia cinerea) (not in Berhaut)
records: Agueraktem (Boudet), i.e. Sahara
habitat: sandy
notes: in clumps; globular yellow flowers; greyish blue-green stems and leaves
images.Sahara http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=cotula%20cinerea
Dicoma
Dicoma tomentosa
records: Segou, Kita, Ansongo, Sokolo (Boudet)
habitat: wet sand
notes: small annual herb to 25-60 cm; small sessile oblong lanceolate or linear leaves 3-6 cm x 0.3-0.8 cm, attenuated at base; leaves and stems covered with woolly white hairs; flowers reddish, in capitula 12-15 mm x 10 mm surrounded by thorny bracts; capitulum sessile or on short peduncle to 10 mm, with one leaf at base; flowers up and down stem roughly each two leaves
ethnobotany: soft plant tissue can be used as tinder with flint lighter (like several other plants)
Dicoma.tomentosa.Hom.spcA2.JH.jpg
Echinops
Echinops pappii (syn E. spinosissimus [misapplied], E. spinosus) (not in Berhaut)
records: Nampala, oued Tedoft, Goundam, Lake Fati (Boudet); between Anda village and Douentza (JH)
habitat: stable dunes
notes: large spreading bush to 1 m; prickly thistle-type leaves; large globular flower
Echinops.pappii.spc04-449.Anda
Eclipta
Eclipta prostrata
records: Dire, Timbuktu, Bamako, Douentza, Sanga (Boudet)
habitat: humid areas, near settlements
notes: annual herb, usually erect; subsessile leaves opposite (by 2) 5-10 cm x 1-2.5 cm, weakly dentate, subsessile; ring around stem at base of leaves; pubescence on both sides of leaves; flowers in hemispheric capitula 6-8 mm wide; outer flowers white 1 mm long; peduncles 2-6 cm
Eclipta.prostrata.spc04-271.Beni.JH.jpg
images.USDA http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ECPR
images (Singapore): http://www.natureloveyou.sg/Eclipta prostrata/Main.html
Epaltes (see Litogyne gariepina)
Francoeuria (see Pulicaria undulata subsp. undulata)
Gnaphalium
Gnaphalium indicum (see Helichrysum indicum)
Gnaphalium luteo-album
records: Dogo, Gao, Dire to Bandiagara (Boudet)
habitat: wet sandy depressions
notes: annual herb to 10-60 cm; sessile obovate spatulate leaves 2-8 cm x 5-9 mm (width about constant from base to near tip, sometimes edges nearly parallel until very tip of leaf, or gradually expanding from base to tip); leaf covered with white tomentous pubescence; compact terminal inflorescence containing numerous small capitula, yellowish, covered (before maturity) with white woolly hairs
image http://casasarroyo.org/flowers/composites/images/GnaphchilenseI72701.jpg
images.Algeria http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=gnaphalium%20luteo-album
Grangea
Grangea ceruanoides (in Berhaut as G. maderaspatana)
records: Bourem, Gourma Rharous, Timbuktu, Bamako, Segou, El Oualadji (Boudet)
habitat: sands, wet zones as water retreats
notes: herb with rosette of larger leaves 8-15 cm x 3-4 cm on ground, smaller leaves on stems; leaves sessile, auriculate, usually profoundly lobed; entire plant covered with greyish velvety pubescence; golden yellow flowers in hemispheric capitula subtended by green bracts with obtuse tip; aromatic plant
taxonomy: both G. ceruanoides and G. maderaspatana are "accepted" by African Flowering Plant Database; G. maderaspatana was apparently misapplied to this sp. (cf. Boudet)
image(G.maderaspatana).Congo http://www.nzenzeflowerspauwels.be/GranMade.jpg
image(G.maderaspatana).China http://taibnet.sinica.edu.tw/photo/P_D_ASTE000180A.jpg
flower (G. maderaspatana, CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/g/grangea_maderaspetana
Grangea maderaspatana (see G. ceruanoides)
Helichrysum
Helichrysum indicum (in Berhaut as Gnaphalium indicum)
records: Bamako, Djenne, Sanga, Mopti (Boudet)
habitat: humid areas near watercourses
notes: small erect annual 8-20 cm, forming bushy clumps; sessile leaf, oblanceolate, 1-5 cm x 3-7 mm, attenuated near base; leaf covered with woolly white tomentous hairs; greenish flowers in compact terminal panicles
Herderia
Herderia truncata
records: Gao, Ngouma, Korienza (Boudet)
habitat: edges of inundatable plains, riverbanks
notes: herb spreading out in rosette form, with secondary roots; small obovate leaf, attenuated at base, sessile or with short petiole to 5 mm, top quartile with dentations; young plant with woolly white pubescence, becoming glabrous; dark violet flowers in terminal capital, base of capitulum not well differentiated from peduncle; after flowering, capitulum curves down
reference: Hutch., Kew Bull, 1914, 354 and fig.
Kleinia
Kleinia cliffordiana (not in Berhaut)
records: Hombori, Douentza, Dire to Bandiagara (Boudet)
habitat: inselbergs
notes: unusual semi-succulent shrub to 2-3 m, sometimes much smaller (bushy)
taxonomy: Boudet comments that this plant may belong to genus Notonia
reference: Jaeger, Ic. Plant. Afr. (I.F.A.N.), 6, no. 144 (1964), with drawing
Kleinia.cliffordiana.1.Kik.JH.jpg
Kleinia.cliffordiana.2.Kik.JH.jpg
Lactuca
Lactuca sativa (cultivated lettuce)
Launaea
Launaea brunneri (syns L. chevalieri, Sonchus chevalieri)
records: Timbuktu, Goundam, Kabara to Mopti, lac Debo (Boudet, as L. chevalieri)
habitat: sandy ravines
notes: herb, usually erect, perennial or biennial, to 30-60 cm; leaf variably linear, oblanceolate, or 5-lobed, 4-12 cm x 0.5-2 cm, attenuating near base but extending as two small "ears" over stem; terminal capitulum, ligulate flowers pinkish white
Litogyne
Litogyne gariepina (syn Epaltes gariepina) (not in Berhaut)
records: Bore, Dire to Bandiagara, Douentza, Gao
habitat: wet clayey sands
notes: flowers mauve
images.Zimbabwe http://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/species.php?species_id=159240
Notonia (see Kleinia cliffordiana)
Pegolettia
Pegolettia senegalensis (not in Berhaut)
records: In Tillit (Boudet), i.e. Saharan
habitat: brousse tigrée
Pentanema
Pentanema indicum (in Berhaut/Boudet as Vicoa leptoclada)
records: Segou, Sikasso, Tin Ahara, Diarra, Bore (Boudet)
habitat: humid soils, often near settlements
notes: annual to 50-100 cm; leaf linear lanceolate 5-10 cm x 0.8-1.5 cm, with rounded auriculate base, fine dentations around leaf, pubescence lightly scabrous under, longer and denser above; young plant has yellowish, pubescent stem; yellow flowers in small capitula 5-7 mm long x 5-6 mm; capitula in corymbiform terminal panicle; peduncle 1-5 cm
reference: Adventrop (as Vicoa leptoclada)
Pentanema.indicum.spc04-446.JH.jpg
Picris
Picris humilis
records: Bamako, San, Diafarabe, Lac Debo (Boudet)
habitat: clayey sand on banks of Niger R (like Senecio perrottetii)
notes: perennial roots, stems to 10-20 cm, ramified from bottom; leaves at base of plant, rarely higher, with stems much higher; leaf most often irregularly 5-lobed, 5-10 cm x 1-1.5 cm, attenuated at base; yellow flowers in capitula that are isolated or by 2-3 at top of stem
Pseudoconyza
Pseudoconyza viscosa (in Berhaut/Boudet as Blumea aurita, syn also Blumea viscosa)
records: Bamako, Sikasso, Dogo (Boudet)
habitat: ruderal
notes: usually biennial, to 30 cm or 1 m; sessile leaves (roughly thistle-like) 10-15 cm x 3-7 cm with significant lobes, base auriculate (one or two "oreillettes" on each side); much smaller upper leaves when flowering; dense pubescence on both sides of leaf; flowers in small capitula, opening little or not at all, top pinkish white
taxonomy: http://www.ville-ge.ch/cjb/bd/africa/resultat.php; "accepted" in African Flowering Plant Database with syns B. aurita, B. viscosa
Pseudoconyza.viscosa(Blumea.aurita).mature.lf.Hom.JH.jpg
Pseudoconyza.viscosa(Blumea.aurita).young.Hom.JH.jpg
Pseudoconyza(Blumea).viscosa.spc04-447.Beni.JH.jpg
Pulicaria
Pulicaria crispa (see P. undulata subsp. undulata)
Pulicaria incisa (syn in part Pulicaria undulata, thus in Berhaut) (similar to Asteriscus graveolens)
records: Labbezanga, Dire to Bandiagara (Boudet as P. incisa)
habitat: wet sand, sandy-clayey soil
notes: annual or biennial to 20-60 cm; sessile oval-lanceolate leaf 3-5 cm x 1-1.5 cm, widest at base, leaves get smaller toward top of plant, greenish but pubescent on both sides of leaf, base auriculate; flowers in isolated terminal capitula, 4-5 mm wide, small yellow flowers, almost globular
taxonomy: taxon P. undulata rejected for this sp. (reflects an early mixup: see Taxon 29:694-5, 1980); P. incisa is "accepted" acc. to African Flowering Plant Database
images(P.incisa).Algeria http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=pulicaria%20incisa
images.P.crispa.and.P.undulata.Algeria http://pageperso.aol.fr/fmeignant/Pul.html
image.P.crispa http://www.kingsnake.com/uromastyx/images/Puli.jpg
Pulicaria undulata subsp. undulata (syns P. crispa [thus Berhaut], syn Francoeuria undulata)
records: Bamako, Timbuktu, Tin Tegrin, Kita (Boudet)
habitat: wet sands
notes: herb to 20-60 cm or more; obovate leaf 4-8 cm x 0.8-2 cm, usually widest near tip, but with secondary widening at base and auriculate (going around most of stem); stem white, covered with woolly pubescence; flower yellow, capitulum hemispheric
taxonomy: this binomial has also been applied in part to the current P. crispa due to an original mixup; African Flowering Plant Database "accepts" P. undulata subsp. undulata as replacement for P. crispa
images.P.crispa.and.P.undulata.Algeria http://pageperso.aol.fr/fmeignant/Pul.html
images(P.crispa).Algeria.SN http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=pulicaria%20crispa
Senecio
Senecio perrottetii
records: Niafunke, Bourem, Gao, Segou (Boudet); Niger R. from Bamba to Ayorou (JH)
habitat: sandy banks and foreshores of Niger River
notes: bushy annual herb to 15-60 cm; lanceolate leaves with dentations and irregular lobes 5-12 cm x 1-6 cm, base auriculate; flowers in more or less corymbiform panicles; inner and ligulate flowers yellow, capitulum 4-5 mm wide at base, 10-20 ligulate flowers may spread out in daisy fashion
Senecio.perrottetii.Bamba.JH.jpg
Senecio.perrottetii.fl.Ayorou.spcA2.JH.jpg
Sonchus
Sonchus chevalieri (see Launaea brunneri)
Sonchus oleraceus (introduced, resembles dandelion)
records: Timbuktu (Boudet)
habitat: cosmopolitan weed, gardens, wet areas
notes: annual or biennial herb to 60 cm or more; leaves bunched on ground in young plant; leaf usually long with dentations and deep lobes that may reach central nerve, auriculate at base (thistle-like); plant glabrous; hollow stem exudes white latex; yellow flowers grouped at top of middle stem or of axillary branches
images.Hawaii http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/sonchus_oleraceus.htm
Sphaeranthus
Sphaeranthus angustifolius
records: Tin Zazi, Segou-Niono (Boudet)
habitat: depressions
notes: herb (probably perennial), either sprawling or up to 10-20 cm; leaf oblanceolate or elliptical-lanceolate 3-7 cm x 0.3-1 cm, mostly glabrous, larger leaves with fine dentations, base attenuated and prolonged as "wings" on both sides of stem; flowers in nearly spherical capitula, isolated or 2-3 at end of stem, 1 cm x 1 cm; flowers violet; peduncles 1-5 cm long, pubescent right under capitulum
Sphaeranthus.angustifolius.Fombori.12.06
records: Bamako, San, Sanga (Boudet)
habitat: inundatable plains
notes: perennial herb, erect (young) then sprawling; at base, leaves may attain 7-15 cm x 2-3.5 cm; higher up, leaves 2-4 cm x 7-12 mm, dentate, surfaces covered with woolly white hars; base of leaves attenuated, prolonged as "wings" down stem; flowers mauve-violet; in perfectly spherical capitula; plant is aromatic
Synedrella
Synedrella nodiflora ("node weed")
records: Kita (Boudet)
habitat: shady humid areas
notes: leaves opposite (by 2), including pair at top of each stem; broad leaf 5-10 cm x 3-5 cm, finely dentate, rough white hairs on both sides; petiole 0.5-1.2 cm; at base of leaves, a ring around stem, in which two sessile capitula are nestled; yellow flowers
image.Wiki http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Synedrella_nodiflora.jpg
image.Hawaii http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/synedrella_nodiflora.htm
Tridax
Tridax procumbens (introduced)
records: Bamako (Boudet)
habitat: sandy soil near houses
notes: perennial-looking herb, sprawling or rising; leaves opposite with ring on stem at base and smaller offshoot stems coming out at ring; leaf oval-angular 2-5 cm x 1-3 cm, base wedge-shaped, some dentation often with one dentation larger than the others; petiole 4-15 mm; petiole and stem pubescent; isolated terminal flowers on axillary peduncles; central flowers yellow, ligulate flowers yellowish or cream
reference: Adventrop
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/t/tridax_procumbens
images (Singapore): http://www.natureloveyou.sg/Tridax procumbens/Main.html
fresh specimen http://www.nybg.org/bsci/belize/Tridax_procumbens.jpg
fresh specimen http://www.pharm.su.ac.th/thai/Organizations/pharmcog/pharmbot/sympet/image/composit/tridax%20procumbens-1.JPG
image.Hawaii http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/tridax_procumbens.htm
Vernonia
Vernonia elegantissima (in Berhaut as V. poskeana var. elegantissima)
records: Madina Diassa (Boudet); Hombori (JH)
habitat: sciaphyte (in shade)
notes: annual to 15-40 c m, often but not always ramified; small leaf linear or oblanceolate 2-3 cm x 3-8 mm, attenuated at base (no clear petiole), barely noticeable dentations, a few fairly rigid hairs, underside of leaf with scattered dark green points; a few short but hard hairs on stem; terminal inflorescence, capitula at tips of filiform peduncles that are 1-2 cm long; flowers red, fewer than 10 per capitulum; lanceolate bracts with sharp point
taxonomy: V. elegantissima "accepted" African Flowering Plant Database
Vernonia.elegantissima(poskeana.var.elegantissima).Hom.spcA2.JH.jpg
Vernonia galamensis (in Berhaut as V. pauciflora)
records: Gao, Goundam, Bore, Sanga, Gossi, Bamako, Sikasso (Boudet)
habitat: riverbanks, edges of drying ponds, rocky debris
notes: annual to 30-60 cm, more or less ramified; leaf elliptical 10-15 cm x 2-6 cm (widest in middle), with attenuated base; flowers pale blue in terminal capitula with top spreading out
Vernonia.galamensis.Hom.JH.jpg
image.Miura http://ss.jircas.affrc.go.jp/project/africa_dojo/Fakara_plants/Contents/images/Vernogal.jpg
flower.CIRAD http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/v/vernonia_galamensis
Vernonia pauciflora (see V. galamensis)
Vernonia perrottetii
records: Kita, Bamako, Sanga, Segou, Sikasso (Boudet)
habitat: sandy fields, savanna with Parkia biglobosa (néré)
notes: annual herb to 50-80 cm, often ramified from base; numerous sessile linear leaves 2-5 cm x 1-4 mm, all around stem; single capitulum at end of each stem; flowers violet
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/v/vernonia_perrottetii
reference: Adventrop
Vernonia poskeana var. elegantissima (see V. elegantissima)
Vicoa (see Pentanema indicum)
[often included under Zygophyllaceae]
Balanites
Balanites aegyptiaca
records: ubiquitous from Timbuktu-Gao to Dogon country
habitat: arid sandy thorn scrub, often with Acacia tortilis
notes: tree, decumbent branches, long thorns, fruits with tan-colored exterior look vaguely like dates
Balanites.aegyptiaca.entire.Kik.11.06
images.Algeria http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=balanites%20aegyptiaca
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/b/balanites_aegyptiaca
(trees, opposite imparipennate leaves)
Kigelia
Kigelia africana ("sausage tree")
records: Timbuktu, Gourma, El Massara (Boudet); rare along Niger R near Timbuktu (JH)
habitat: wet areas
notes: tree to 15 m; leaf 15-30 cm long with 2-4 pairs of folioles, which are oval-elliptical 5-12 cm x 3-7 cm, more or less rounded but s.t. with slight dentations, about 8 well-developed secondary nerves; petiole 2-10 cm before first folioles, base of petiole thickened with white spots; young branches grey with white spots; purple-red flower with tubular corolla, 3-4 cm wide; woody "sausage" fruits 30-40 cm x 7-8 cm, exterior light grey, on long peduncle 40-50 cm
Kigelia.africana.Kabara.lf.spcA2.JH.jpg
flower.CIRAD http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/k/kigelia_africana
images.SAfr http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantklm/kigeliaafric.htm
images.AfricanTrees http://www.africantrees.com/details.asp?treeID=16
Virtual Field Herbarium http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/VFH/image/index.php?taxonomy=502&last=5
images.Hawaii http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/kigelia_africana.htm
Stereospermum
Stereospermum kunthianum
records: Hombori, Sotuba, Kayes, Kati
habitat: sandy or clayey depressions, gravely and lateritic soil (Boudet); scattered in northern Dogon country (JH)
notes: tree to 5-10 m; leaf with 3-6 pairs of folioles, which are oval-elliptical 6-10 cm x 3-5 cm, those on side somewhat disymmetric at base; 7-10 secondary nerves; petiole 2-5 cm before first pair of folioles; flowers pink or mauve, in wide panicles when tree is defoliated; fruit long and thin 25-30 cm x 0.7-0.8 cm, crooked
native terms: Dogon "popolo" (C-G)
Stereospermum.kunthianum_Dianw_03_2008_entire_JH.JPG
Stereospermum.kunthianum_Dianw_03_2008_specmn_leaf_JH.JPG
Stereospermum.kunthianum_Dianw_03_2008_specmn_twig_JH.JPG
Stereospermum.kunthianum.spc(Montp).JH.jpg
flower.CIRAD http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/s/stereospermum_kunthianum
Virtual Field Herbarium http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/VFH/image/index.php?taxonomy=1419&last=5
[now s.t. included under Malvaceae s.l. as tribe Bombacoideae]
(tall trees, digitate alternate leaves with 5-9 folioles radiating from central axis)
Adansonia
Adansonia digitata ("baobab")
records: Niono, San, Djenne (Boudet); common in the zone Mopti to Bandiagara and very common father south, now getting rare around Douentza or Hombori except when planted in towns (JH)
habitat: lightly forested plains
notes: tree with irregular but massive trunk, unmistakable aspect; leaves with 5-7 folioles, folioles getting much smaller toward the base; enormous ovoid fruit hanging down 15-25 cm long
Adansonia.digitata_fr_Songho_Jan2008.JPG
images.Senegal http://edcintl.cr.usgs.gov/senegal2/fveg4.html
images.WAfr http://site.voila.fr/MagicChris/Adansonia/adansonia_digitata.htm
Virtual Field Herbarium http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/VFH/image/index.php?taxonomy=539&last=5
images.Hawaii http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/adansonia_digitata.htm
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/a/adansonia_digitata
Bombax
Bombax costatum (Fr "kapokier")
records: Sotuba, Niono, Bandiagara, Yanfolila (Boudet)
habitat: lateritic soil, plains
notes: tree 10-25 m; leaf usually with 5 (but up to 7) folioles of roughly equal size, obovate, 10-15 cm x 3-7 cm, noticeably widest about 2/3 up from base to tip; tip acuminate but rounded just at the tip; red flowers conspicuous December-January when tree is defoliated; fruit is pod 10-12 cm long with black seeds surrounded by silky fibers ("kapok")
Bombax.costatum_Songho_01_2008_entire_JH.jpg
Bombax.costatum_Songho_01_2008_fl_JH.jpg
flower.CIRAD http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/b/bombax_costatum
Ceiba
Ceiba pentandra (Fr "fromager")
records: Sanga, Gao, Kita (Boudet); planted in villages (e.g. Douentza)
habitat: edge of ponds
notes: tree to 20-30 m or more, massive trunk expanding outward toward base; leaf with 5-9 elliptic-lanceolate leaves 4 times as long as wide, acuminate tip; petiole 10-25 cm, thickening somewhat at both ends; greenish-white flower in January when tree is leafless; pod 12-15 cm long with black seeds surrounded by silky fibers
Virtual Field Herbarium http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/VFH/image/index.php?taxonomy=763&last=5
images.Hawaii http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/ceiba_pentandra.htm
images.Pacific http://www.hear.org/pier/imagepages/thumbnails/ceiba_pentandra.htm
images (scroll down) http://www.malvaceae.info/Genera/Ceiba/gallery.html
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/c/ceiba_pentandra
Coldenia
Coldenia procumbens
records: Gao, Kabara, lac Faguibine, Dire
habitat: wet areas, mud
notes: prostrate herb; leaves alternate; leaf oval 1-2.5 cm x 1-2 cm with edges dentate or folded, leaves silvery (covered with white hairs on both sides); hairy stems; small yellow flowers, barely visible under stems; capsules with 4 horns
specimen.Linnaeus http://linnaeus.nrm.se/botany/fbo/c/colde/coldpro.html.se
image (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/c/coldenia_procumbens
Cordia
Cordia myxa
records: Sotuba, Birgo (Boudet); Dianwely and Beni near Douentza (JH)
habitat: planted
notes: small tree 3-15 m; leaves alternate, widely oval, 7-10 cm x 6-8 cm; white flowers in terminal panicle; drupe (pit covered with sweet viscous pulp) 2 cm x 1.5 cm, yellow-orange at maturity, blackens when dry
ethnobotany: mainly used to make a glue from the fruits, in at least one Dogon language the tree is known as colle (Fr for ?glue')
Cordia.myxa.planted.Dian.JH.jpg
flower http://www.dipbot.unict.it/orto/0428b.jpg
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/c/cordia_myxa
fruit.California http://cals.arizona.edu/arboretum/pwalk/images/cordia_myxa_fruit.JPG
Cordia senegalensis
records: none (Boudet)
habitat: in Senegal, often at base of termitaries
notes: small tree; alternate leaves oval, glabrous, not dentate, with acuminate point
Cordia sinensis
records: Niafounke, Zinguetti, Bandiagara, Gossi (Boudet)
habitat: wooded savanna
notes: small tree 3-5 m; leaves may be opposite, subopposite, or alternate; leaf elliptical 5-8 cm x 3-5 cm, scabrous on top, upper part of leaf usually with some dentations; flowers in clusters at ends of branches; red-orange fruits, with viscous flesh
Cordia.sinensis.entire.TinH.JH.jpg
Cordia.sinensis.Kik.spcA2.JH.jpg
ripe.fruit http://www.eingedi.dead-sea.k12.il/garden/araf6.JPG
flower.Zimbabwe http://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/species.php?species_id=148260
Heliotropium
Heliotropium bacciferum (see H. ramosissimum)
Heliotropium baclei (var. baclei and var. rostratum)
records: Ansongo, Gao, Mopti, Macina, Sotuba (Boudet)
habitat: wet areas
notes: small annual herb, erect or spreading; small oval leaf 1-1.5 cm x 5-9 mm; isolated small axillary white flowers
Heliotropium indicum
records: Bamako, Segou, Goundam (Boudet)
habitat: wet areas
notes: annual herb to 30-60 cm; leaves opposite, then becoming alternate; broad oval leaf 6-15 cm x 3-10 cm, widest near base, pubescent; stem hairy; flowers white or bluish, in two rows on scorpion-tail flower spike 20-30 cm long
Heliotropium.indicum.TinH.JH.jpg
Heliotropium.indicum.Djen.JH.jpg
Heliotropium.indicum.Djen.spcA2.JH.jpg
Virtual Field Herbarium http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/VFH/image/index.php?taxonomy=1328&last=5
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/h/heliotropium_indicum
Heliotropium ovalifolium
records: Timbuktu, Gourma Rharous, lac Faguibine (Boudet)
habitat: wet areas
notes: herb, more or less perennial, to 30-50 cm, erect; leaves alternate; leaf elliptical or slightly oval, 1-3 cm x 0.5-1.5 cm, tapered base; white flowers in one row on scorpion-tail spikes in pairs 2-10 cm long
Heliotropium.ovalifolium.Labbez.JH.jpg
Virtual Field Herbarium http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/VFH/image/index.php?taxonomy=1351&last=5
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/h/heliotropium_ovalifolium
Heliotropium pterocarpum [get description]
records: Gao, Dire, Niafounke, Bossobougou (Boudet)
habitat: sandy
Heliotropium ramosissimum (in Berhaut as H. bacciferum, syn also H. undulatum)
records: Timbuktu, Goundam, Dire, Adrar, Rharous (Boudet)
habitat: sandy
notes: perennial herb 15-50 cm, spreading; alternate leaves; elliptical or lanceolate leaf 4-8 cm x 8-15 with coarse hairs on both sides (cf. H. zeylanicum), in upper leaves with not much of a distinct petiole, lower leaves with petiole to 8-12 mm in rainy season; edge of leaf slightly undulating (esp. in dry season); white flowers densely packed in two rows in small scorpion-tail spikes, often several spikes branching near tip of each branch
Heliotropium.ramosissimum.Tim.spcA2.JH.jpg
images.Algeria http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=heliotropium%20ramosissimum
Heliotropium strigosum
records: Bamako, Sofara, Sanga, Gourma, Tin Tadeni (Boudet)
habitat: sandy
notes: annual herb 10-25 cm; leaves alternate; leaf linear-lanceolate 2-3 cm x 3-6 mm; little or no petiole; small white flowers in one row, spaced out on spiciform spike only slightly curved at top
flower.CIRAD http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/h/heliotropium_strigosum
Heliotropium subulatum (see H. zeylanicum)
Heliotropium supinum
records: Gourma, In Tillit (Boudet)
habitat: clayey soils near water
notes: spreading annual herb, leaves opposite or alternate; oval leaf 1.5-2 cm x 1-2 cm; some hairs between nerves on top, bottom pubescent; petiole 3-10 mm and stem pubescent; few small white flowers in scorpion-tail spike at tip or below.
Heliotropium undulatum (see H. ramosissimum)
Heliotropium zeylanicum (in Berhaut as H. subulatum)
records: Niafounke, Hombori (Boudet)
habitat: sandy
notes: annual herb 30-60 cm, alternate leaves; leaf lanceolate 5-9 cm x 8-15 cm with coarse hairs on both sides (cf. H. ramosissimum); yellow-green flowers spaced out on scorpion-tail spike 10-20 cm, curled at tip, usually three spikes per branch; corolla lobes with long filiform points
Heliotropium.zeylanicum(subulatum).Homb.JH.jpg
Heliotropium.zeylanicum(subulatum).fr(immature).Hom.spcA2.JH.jpg
Moltkiopsis
Moltkiopsis ciliata (syn Moltkia ciliata) (Saharan sp.)
records: Touetat, Azawad (Boudet)
habitat: coarse-grained sand (semi-gravelly)
images.Algeria.SN http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?plante=moltkiopsis%20ciliata&aff=nom
Rotula
Rotula aquatica
records: Koulikoro, Bamako (Boudet)
habitat: in stream beds, s.t. half-submerged
notes: shrub 1-1.5 m; leaves alternate or opposite; obovate or oblanceolate leaf 2-3 cm x 0.5-1.5 cm; petiole not always distinct; pinkish flowers; capsule
Rotula.aquatica.spc(Montp).JH.jpg
Trichodesma
Trichodesma africanum
records: Mopti, Hombori, Gao, Niafounke (Boudet)
habitat: sandy or sandy-clayey
notes: annual herb ? to 1 m, leaves opposite; leaf oval or widely lanceolate 5-12 cm x 2-7 cm; coarse leaf covered with hairs, also on edge of leaf; petiole 1-6 cm and stem covered with white points with semi-thorny hairs; flower white or bluish with yellow inside
Trichodesma.africanum.1.Hom.JH.jpg
Trichodesma.africanum.2.Hom.JH.jpg
image.entire.Libya http://www.ecliptomaniacs.com/2006/florafauna/pictures/DSCN2305bs.jpg
images.Algeria.SN.1 http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=trichodesma%20africanum
images.Algeria.SN.2 http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=trichodesma%20africanum%20(2)
(includes former Capparaceae and Cruciferae)
(Cleome now considered closer to ex-Cruciferae than to other Capparaceae)
(term "Cruciferae" was used because 4 petals look like a cross)
section organized into these subsections:
ex-Cruciferae
Cleome and relatives
ex-Capparaceae
ex-Cruciferae (largely Saharan, plus cultivated spp. [cabbage, broccoli, etc.])
Anastatica
Anastatica hierochuntica
records: Kessert Gani (Sahara) (Boudet)
habitat: gravelly regs, depressions
Anastatica.hierochuntica.Kew.JH.jpg
image.Algeria.Meignant http://pageperso.aol.fr/fmeignant/Anas.html
images.Algeria http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=anastatica%20hierochuntica
Eremobium
Eremobium aegyptiacum
records: none (Boudet)
Eremobium.aegyptiacum.Kew.JH.jpg
images.Algeria http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=eremobium%20aegyptiacum
Farsetia
Farsetia aegyptia
records: Hamada Safia, Taoudenni (Boudet)
habitat: rocks
images("F.aegyptiaca").Algeria http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=farsetia%20aegyptiaca
Farsetia ramosissima (see F. stylosa)
Farsetia stenoptera
records: Gossi (Boudet)
habitat: clayey depressions
Farsetia stylosa (syn F. ramosissima)
records: Goundam, Timbuktu, Adrar, Menaka (Boudet)
habitat: sandy
Farsetia.stylosa(=ramosissima).Kew.JH.jpg
Farsetia.stylosa(=ramosissima).Tim.spcA2.JH.jpg
images("F.ramosissima").Algeria http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=farsetia%20ramosissima
Morettia
Morettia canescens
records: Tilemsi (Boudet)
habitat: sandy
taxonomy: term was at times misapplied to M. philaeana
images.Algeria http://pageperso.aol.fr/fmeignant/Mor.html
images.Algeria http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=morettia%20canescens
images (Libya): http://www.ecliptomaniacs.com/2006/florafauna/pictures/DSCN0067bs.jpg
Morettia philaeana (cf. also M. canescens)
records: Tin Ahara
habitat: sandy
Moricandia
Moricandia arvensis
records: none (Boudet)
images.Algeria http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=moricandia%20arvensis
Schouwia
Schouwia purpurea (see also S. thebaica)
taxonomy: valid term, but has also been misapplied to S. thebaica
Schouwia schimperi (see S. thebaica)
Schouwia thebaica (syn S. schimperi, cf. also S. purpurea)
records: Adrar, in Tillit (Boudet)
habitat: oueds, sandy elevations
Schouwia.thebaica(=schimperi).Kew.JH.jpg
images.Algeria.SN http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=schouwia%20thebaica
Zilla
Zilla spinosa
records: none (Boudet)
images.Algeria.SN http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=zilla%20spinosa
image (Libya): http://www.ecliptomaniacs.com/2006/florafauna/pictures/DSCN0071bs.jpg
Cleome etc.
Cleome
key by leaf
5-foliate: gynandra (fl white), viscosa (fl yellow)
3-foliate: tenella (fl yellow)
simple: monophylla (fl white), scaposa (fl yellow)
Cleome amblyocarpa (syn C. africana, s.t. previously referred to C. arabica) [get description]
records: Agueraktem (Boudet), also Algeria
habitat: rocks, sands
ethnobotany: toxic to animals
reference: Boulos, Flora of Egypt, vol. 1, p. 180
pods.Israel http://www.botanic.co.il/a/catalog.asp?qcat=CLEAMB
images(C.africana).Algeria http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=cleome%20africana
Cleome arabica (valid term, but misapplied locally to C. amblyocarpa)
Cleome brachycarpa (not in Berhaut) [get description]
records: Goundam, Adrar
habitat: rocks, rocky soil, dunes
reference: Boulos, Flora of Egypt, vol 1, p. 178
images.Algeria http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=cleome%20brachycarpa
Cleome gynandra (syn Gynandropsis gynandra)
records: Adrar, Gao (Boudet); common in northern Dogon country (JH)
habitat: common beside fields and in villages
notes: annual herb; alternate leaves w. 5 folioles; petiole 3-10 cm with tiny thorny points; stem and petiole watery; white flowers
flower.Wiki http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Cleome_gynandra.jpg
drawing.Wiki http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Cleome_gynandra_Blanco1.233.png
images.Hawaii http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/cleome_gynandra.htm
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/c/cleome_gynandra
Cleome monophylla
records: Sanga, Farabougou (Boudet)
habitat: wet sandy (Sahel), stony depressions
notes: annual herb 25-50 cm; simple alternate leaves, oval-lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate 3-6 cm x 0.8-1.5 cm; leaves get smaller going up stem; white flowers grouped at tip of stem; long thin fruit 3-6 cm x 2-3 mm
Cleome.monophylla.Kik.spcA2.JH.jpg
flower http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/Show/SAfrica/sapaper/Figure39.JPG
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/c/cleome_monophylla
Cleome paradoxa (not in Berhaut) [get description]
records: Goundam
habitat: sandy oueds, rocky soil
reference: Ozenda, Flore du Sahara (end ed), p. 247; Boulos, Flora of Egypt, vol 1, p. 180
Cleome scaposa
records: Kidal, Ndaki (Boudet)
habitat: compact sands, fossil laterites, rocks
notes: annual herb 15-25 cm; simple alternate leaves; oval leaves much larger at base of stem (2-4 cm x 1.5-2.5 cm), base often cordate; leaves much smaller higher up on stem; small yellow flowers in small clusters at top of stem; long thin fruit 1.5-2.5 cm long, often arc-ed
Cleome tenella
records: Bourem, Tassaguela
habitat: compact sands w Acacia senegal/A. laeta & Schoenefeldia
notes: annual herb 10-30 cm; alternate trifoliate leaves, linear folioles 1-5 cm x 1.5 mm; small yellow flowers
Cleome viscosa
records: Gao, Sanga, Adrar (Boudet)
habitat: common in rocky debris at base of inselbergs
notes: annual herb 10-60 cm; alternate leaves w. 5 folioles; lateral nerves hard to see; petiole 1-3 cm; pubescent streaked stem; yellow flowers; long thin fruit 5-7 cm x 3-4 mm
flower http://www.hear.org/pier/images/clvisp10.jpg
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/c/cleome_viscosa
images: http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/VFH/image/index.php?taxonomy=795&last=5
Gynandropsis
Gynandropsis gynandra (see Cleome gynandra)
ex-Capparaceae excluding Cleome
Boscia
Boscia angustifolia
records: Bamaka, Sanga, Hombori, Tikimsa (Boudet)
habitat: dry land
notes: tree or shrub, high-branching; in Hombori-Douentza area the trunk is usually covered with shiny white bark; leaves alternate on young branches, fasciculate by 3-10 on older branches, oblong-elliptical 4-7 cm x 1-1.5 cm; petiole 4-6 mm; greenish flowers in a terminal cluster; fruits are spherical 7-8 mm wide
Boscia.angustifolia.fol.Beni.JH.jpg
Boscia.angustifolia.fr.Kik.JH.jpg
Boscia.angustifolia_Songho_02_2008_entire_JH.jpg
Boscia salicifolia
records: Samanko (Boudet); Hombori, Douentza (JH)
habitat: rocky hills
notes: small tree or shrub (aspect resembles B. angustifolia); leaves alternate, lanceolate 8-12 cm x 0.8-1.5 cm, with conspicuous central nerve; petiole 1-4 mm; greenish flowers in racemes; spherical fruits 7-10 mm wide
Boscia.salicifolia.1.Hom.JH.jpg
Boscia.salicifolia.2.Hom.JH.jpg
Boscia.salicifolia.lf.Kik.spcA2.JH.jpg
Boscia senegalensis
records: ubiquitous
habitat: on dry land, often on termitaries
notes: bushy shrub; alternate leaves, oval, 7-10 cm x 3-6 cm; greenish flowers in terminal panicle; spherical fruits 1.5-2 cm wide, yellow at maturity
Boscia.senegalensis_fr_Gasa_July_07.JH.jpg
Boscia.senegalensis.fr.fl.Hom.Djen.2spcsA2.JH.jpg
Boscia.senegalensis.Hom.JH.jpg
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/b/boscia_senegalensis
Cadaba (lianas/scramblers with no thorns)
Cadaba farinosa subsp. farinosa
records: San, Timbuktu, Gao, Niono, Djenne
habitat: on termitaries, sandy-clayey depressions, ravines
notes: small bushy scrambling shrub, s.t. tree to 4 m; leaves alternate on young branch, fasciculate by 2-5 on trunk and branch, oblong; leaves covered by fine whitish powder that gives foliage a greyish look; yellow-green flowers in panicle at tip of branch; slender pod up to 5-6 cm long with bright red seeds
ethnobotany: leaves sold as medicine (e.g. Gao) (JH)
Cadaba.farinosa_spc_fl
Cadaba.farinosa.Hom.JH.jpg
Cadaba.farinosa.Kik.spcA2.JH.jpg
flower.CIRAD http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/c/cadaba_farinosa
Cadaba glandulosa
records: Goundam, Ansongo, Menaka, Hombori
habitat: dry areas
notes: under-shrub; leaves small and circular, covered with whitish powder.
Cadaba.glandulosa.Dianw.JH.jpg
Cadaba.glandulosa.Kik.spcA2.JH.jpg
ethnobotany: leaves sold as medicine (e.g. Hombori) (JH)
Capparis (lianas/scramblers with paired down-curving thorns)
Capparis corymbosa (see C. sepiaria)
Capparis decidua (in Berhaut)
records: Senegal (Sahel) and Mauritania (Berhaut); none (Boudet)
habitat: beside oueds (Mauritania)
notes: thorny shrub forming clumps, generally leafless (esp. at time of flowering); flowers pink or red; spherical fruit first red, then black when mature
Capparis fascicularis (syn C. rothii [thus in FWTA2])
records: Ansongo, Dire, Oua-Oua near Mopti (Boudet)
habitat: on termitaries
notes: (FWTA2 1(1).89-90): resembles C. sepiaria ("C. corymbosa) but calyx silky pubescent to densely tomentose, flowers 4-12 in short axillary cymes; petals and filaments white
Capparis.fascicularis.spc(Montp).JH.jpg
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/c/caparis_fascicularis
Capparis rothii (see C. fascicularis)
Capparis sepiaria var. fischeri (syn C. corymbosa, so in Berhaut)
records: Timbuktu, Niono, Hombori
habitat: termitaries, thickets on riverbanks, s.t. around villages
notes: bushy shrub with decumbent branches, or liana; alternate leaves, oval 3-5 cm x 1-3 cm, widest about 1/3 up from base, tip rounded; white flowers clustered in corymb at tip of branches, calyx glabrous; spherical fruit 1-1.2 cm wide, red at maturity
Capparis.sepiaria.Djen.JH.jpg
Capparis.sepiaria.fischeri.fr.Kik.spcA2.JH.jpg
Capparis.sepiaria.spc.JH.jpg
flower (CIRAD, C. corymbosa): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/c/capparis_corymbosa
Capparis spinosa
records: none (Boudet)
images.Algeria.1 http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=capparis%20spinosa
images.Algeria.2 http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=capparis%20spinosa%20(2)
Capparis tomentosa
records: along Niger R., Fantina, Sahelo-Soudanian (Boudet)
habitat: termitaries
notes: bush; leaves oblong, 3-8 cm x 1.5-3 cm with base rounded or barely subcordate, top rounded; greyish pubescence covering most of plant including branches; paired down-curving thorns at base of petiole; flowers in dense bouquet at tip of branch; void or spherical fruit, yellow-orange with pink flesh, 4-5 cm wide and up to 5-6 cm long, on peduncle
flower http://www.shop.sunshine-seeds.de/images/medium/cap_tom_fl.jpg
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/c/capparis_tomentosa
fruit http://www.shop.sunshine-seeds.de/images/big/Cap_tom_fr.jpg
Crataeva
Crataeva adansonii (syn Crataeva religiosa)
records: Timbuktu, San, Gao, Segou, Bandiagara (Boudet)
habitat: riverbanks, ravines
notes: tree; trifoliate leaf (cf. Ritchiea), folioles obovate 6-10 cm x 3-4 cm, with acuminate point at tip; long petiole 4-10 cm; young branches lenticelate with white points; flowers (appear after leaves have fallen), white, in corymbiform panicle at end of branches; spherical fruit 3-8 cm wide, woody peduncle 5-6 cm
Crataeva.adansonii_Bounou
Crataeva.adansonii.2.Hom.JH.jpg
Crataeva.adansonii.2.Hom.JH.jpg
images: http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/VFH/image/index.php?taxonomy=1248&last=5
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/c/crataeva_adansonii
Maerua
Maerua angolensis
records: Bandiagara, Dire, San, Sotuba (Boudet)
habitat: sandy
notes: shrub or small tree; alternate glabrous leaves, oval, 4-7 cm x 3-6 cm, widest near base, rounded mucronate tip, bright green; petiole 1-2 cm thickest at top; axillary flowers close to tip of branch; 5 green sepals but no petals, many white stamens in parasol; lumpy pod narrowed between seeds (from 3 to many more seeds)
Maerua.angolensis.fl.Hom.JH.jpg
Maerua.angolensis.fr.JH.jpg
Maerua.angolensis.sapl.Tupere.JH.jpg
images http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/VFH/image/index.php?taxonomy=562&last=5
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/m/maerua_angolensis
Maerua crassifolia
records: Timbuktu, Adrar, Gao (Boudet); Hombori, Douentza (JH)
habitat: sandy
notes: shrub or small tree; alternate leaves usually fasciculate by 2-5 on one branches; leaf obovate, 1-2 cm x 0.5-1 cm, tinted ashy grey; small flowers, along branches, isolated or in groups of 2-3, without petals; pod narrowed between seeds, 2-5 cm long
Maerua.crassifolia.1.Hom.JH.jpg
Maerua.crassifolia.lf.Hom.spcA2.JH.jpg
Maerua.crassofilia.trunk.Kubewel.JH.jpg
images.Algeria http://pageperso.aol.fr/fmeignant/Mae.html
images.Algeria http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=maerua%20crassifolia
images.Algeria http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=maerua%20crassifolia%20(2)
Maerua de-waillyi (Malian endemic) [get description]
records: islands in rapids near Ansongo (Boudet)
notes: resembles M. crassifolia
Maerua oblongifolia
records: Timbuktu, Segou, Gourma (Boudet)
habitat: sandy with some clay, riverbanks
notes: woody shrub to 0.5-1 m high, emerging from woody rhizome; alternate leaves, oblong or oblong-lanceolate 7-12 cm x 1-1.5 cm; short petiole 1-5 cm, branches green; flowers axillary, close to tip of branch, 4 sepals, with 4 whitish-green petals
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/m/maerua_oblongifolia
Maerua pseudopetalosa (syns Courbonia pseudopetalosa, Courbonia virgata) [get description]
records: Konkobiri (Gourma), Goumera (Boudet)
habitat: termitaries, clayey
notes: (African Flow Pl Database 2007) perennial woody herb or subshrub with ascending branches, 30-60 cm high
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/m/maerua_pseudopetalosa
Ritchiea
Ritchiea capparoides (in Berhaut)
records: none (Boudet)
notes: small tree, or scrambling shrub; alternate trifoliate leaves (cf. Crataeva), folioles elliptical 7-15 cm x 4-7 cm; oblong pods 3-5 cm x 1.5-1.8 cm
image http://www.worldbotanical.com/images/Ritchiea_capparoides.jpg
Commiphora
Commiphora africana
records: Goundam, Bandiagara, Gao, Hombori (Boudet)
habitat: sandy
notes: small tree 2-6 m; alternate trifoliate leaves; folioles on side (2 cm x 1.5 cm) much smaller than terminal foliole (3-4 cm x 1.2-2 cm), folioles with a few rounded dentations; leaf has petiole 0.5-3 cm but folioles are sessile; short lateral branches ending in thorny points; red flowers, fasciculated on stems (Jan-May when tree is defoliated); obovoid drupes, red at maturity
ethnobotany: resin is myrrh-like ("bdellium"), burned as incense
Commiphora.africana.1.Hom.JH.jpg
Commiphora.africana.fr.on.branch.Songho.Jan2008.JH.JPG
Commiphora pedunculata
records: Quiebele, Koutiala (Boudet); south of Douentza (JH)
notes: shrub 1-4 m; alternate imparipennate leaves 8-15 cm with 5-7 pairs of sessile folioles with fine dentations; terminal foliole has slender base; folioles oblong-elliptical 2-5 cm x 1-2 cm (resemble leaves of Lannea humilis, Anacardiaceae, which however lack dentations); petiole 2-4 cm; yellow-green flowers s.t. reddish on outside, grouped at tip of axillary peduncle 3-5 cm; ovoid fruits 1-1.2 cm x 0.8-1 cm, conical top
Commiphora.pedunculata.spcA2.JH.jpg
flower.CIRAD http://fleurs.cirad.fr/c/commiphora_pedunculata
(for Herniaria see Illecebraceae)
Herniaria
Herniaria mauritanica (Saharan sp.)
records: none (Boudet); Algeria, Morocco
ref. Flore du Sahara 2nd ed p. 209
Polycarpaea
Polycarpaea corymbosa var. corymbosa
records: Segou, Goundam, Gao, Bamako, Macina, Gossi (Boudet)
habitat: dry sand, rocks in sand, ferrugineous plateaus
notes: erect herb 20-50 cm, often ramified; opposite/verticillate linear leaves, sessile, 1-3 cm x 1-2 mm, usually glabrous; stems pubescent with short woolly white hairs; pure white flowers, s.t. tipped with red; sepals 3-3.5 mm long, pubescent; flowers in corymb, often widening horizontally but not bending back down
reference: Adventrop
image.Miura http://ss.jircas.affrc.go.jp/project/africa_dojo/Fakara_plants/Contents/images/Polyccor.jpg
Polycarpaea.corymbosa.spc(Montp).JH.jpg
Polycarpaea eriantha
records: Bandiagara to Mopti, Bamako, Macina, Niono (Boudet); Hombori (JH)
habitat: dry sand
notes: much-branched herb 20-30 cm; opposite/verticillate linear filiform leaves, sessile, 1-3 cm x 1-2 mm, glabrous; young plant has rosette of leaves at base; stems covered by fine grey down; flowers silvery-white in small irregular panicles
image.Miura http://ss.jircas.affrc.go.jp/project/africa_dojo/Fakara_plants/Contents/images/Polyceri.jpg
Polycarpaea.eriantha.spc(Montp).JH.jpg
Polycarpaea.eriantha.entire.Hom.JH.jpg
Polycarpaea linearifolia
records: Gao, Niono, Rharous, San, Koulikoro (Boudet)
habitat: sand, rocks
notes: erect herb 30-50 cm, leaves opposite/verticillate sessile linear leaves 1-3 cm x 1-2 mm; pubescent cylindrical stems; silver-white flowers in globular head 1-2 cm wide
image.Miura http://ss.jircas.affrc.go.jp/project/africa_dojo/Fakara_plants/Contents/images/Polyclin.jpg
Polycarpaea prostrata (see Polycarpon robbairea)
Polycarpon
Polycarpon prostratum
records: San, Djenne, Gourma Rharous (Boudet)
habitat: sandy-clayey
notes: prostrate herb, leaves opposite/verticillate, oblanceolate 1-2.5 cm x 5-8 mm, widest 2/3 of way up, very slender at base (no clear petiole); in upper part of flowering stem one leaf is full-sized and the opposite leaf is very small or absent with the peduncle emerging from the side of the small leaf; several longer leaves at major branching points of main stem; stem pubescent on side facing sun; white or more often bluish flowers, numerous in paniculate bracteate cymes
Polycarpon.prostratum.spc(Montp).JH.jpg
Polycarpon robbairea (syns Robbairea delineana [thus Boudet], ??Polycarpaea prostrata)
records: Gao (Boudet)
habitat: sand
images.Algeria.SN http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=robbairea%20delileana
Robbairea
Robbairea delileana (see Polycarpon robbairea)
Vaccaria
Vaccaria hispanica (has several variants in N. Africa; in Boudet as V. pyramidata)
records: "signalé adventice ? Diré près de Tombouctou par Chevalier" (Boudet)
Vaccaria.hispanica(pyramidata).spc(Montp).JH.jpg
flower http://www.hoseito.com/FLORES%20SILVESTRES/fotos%20flores/IMG_8181z.JPG
Vaccaria pyramidata (see V. hispanica)
Loeseneriella (previously placed in Hippocrataceae)
Loeseneriella africana
records: Timbuktu, Niafounke, Macina, Segou (Boudet); Douentza area (JH)
habitat: riverside, temporary pools (Boudet); inselbergs (JH)
notes: woody liana, leaves opposite, shiny bright green oval leaf 5-8 cm x 3-5 cm, petiole 4-6 mm; lateral stems may twine in tendril form; green flowers in axillary panicle divided 2 to 5 times, first divisions at right angle; 3 obovate capsules each 3-5 cm x 2-3 cm; capsule divides in half, revealing winged seeds
ethnobotany: much-prized fibers for rope
Loeseneriella.africana.on.acacia.Tupere.JH.jpg
Loeseneriella.africana.Kik.1.spcA2.JH.jpg
Loeseneriella.africana.Kik.spcA2.JH.jpg
Maytenus
Maytenus senegalensis
records: Tasseguela, Timbuktu, Gao, Bamako (Boudet)
habitat: sand, gravel
notes: bushy shrub 2-5 m, leaves alternate, straight axillary thorn 1-5 cm, often with two small leaves near tip, emerging at each axil on same side as and rising above leaf; small greenish-white flowers; small globular fruits, red at maturity
Maytenus.senegalensis.Hom.JH.jpg
Maytenus.senegalensis.2.Hom.JH.jpg
bud.flower http://www.worldbotanical.com/Maytenus-senegalensis-fl.jpg
thorn.fruit http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/medioambiente/revistama/revista_ma45/imagenes/p66.jpg
Virtual Field Herbarium http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/VFH/image/index.php?taxonomy=1414&last=5
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/m/maytenus_senegalensis
(Saharan/Mauritanian spp., not in Berhaut unless indicated)
Bassia
Bassia muricata
records: Hamada Safia (Boudet); Western Sahara, Mauritania
habitat: sands
ref: Flore du Sahara; Ibis
images.Algeria http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=bassia%20muricata
Chenopodium
Chenopodium murale (in Berhaut)
records: none (Boudet); Senegal: villages and disturbed areas (Berhaut)
notes: herb 25-50 cm; broad, heavily dentate leaves
images.Algeria.Meignant http://pageperso.aol.fr/fmeignant/Chen.html
images.Algeria.SN http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=centaurea%20pungens
images.Hawaii http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/chenopodium_murale.htm
images.Pacific http://www.hear.org/pier/imagepages/thumbnails/chenopodium_murale.htm
Cornulaca
Cornulaca monocantha
records: Araouane, Erg Chech (Boudet)
habitat: regs with coarse sands
ethnobotany: excellent camel fodder, also grazed by small livestock
ref: Ibis
Cornulaca.monocantha.Kew.JH.jpg
images.Algeria http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=cornulaca%20monacantha
Nucularia
Nucularia perrinii
records: Achheib, Hamada Safia (Boudet)
habitat: sandy, rocky
ethnobotany: good fodder for animals
ref: Ibis
Nucularia.perrini.Kew.JH.jpg
images.Algeria.SN http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=nucularia%20perrini
Patellifolia
Patellifolia patellaris
records: Agueraktem (Boudet)
habitat: rocky areas
Salsola
Salsola baryosma (see S. imbricata)
Salsola imbricata (syn S. baryosma [thus Berhaut])
records: none (Boudet)
habitat: brackish areas (Berhaut)
notes: herb or sub-ligneous plant 30-60 cm
ref: Ibis
Salsola.imbricata(baryosma).Kew.JH.jpg
images(S.baryosma).Algeria.SN http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=salsola%20baryosma
Salsola tetragona (see S. tetrandra)
Salsola tetrandra (syn S. tetragona)
Suaeda
Suaeda mollis (see S. vermiculata)
Suaeda monodiana (see S. vermiculata)
Suaeda vermiculata (syn S. monodiana, S. mollis)
records: Khnachiche none (Boudet [S. monodiana]); Senegal and Mauritania (Berhaut)
notes: annual or perennial herb in shrublike form 50 cm to 1 m
ref: Ibis
images(S.mollis).Algeria.SN http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=suaeda%20mollis
images(S.monodiana).Algeria.SN http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=suaeda%20monodiana
Traganum
Traganum nudatum
records: none (Boudet); Western Sahara & Mauritania
images.Algeria.SN http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=traganum%20nudatum
Neocarya
Neocarya macrophylla (syn Parinari macrophylla)
records: Bandiagara, Bamako, Segou (Boudet); Djenne (JH)
habitat: dry savanna, including sandstone
notes: tree to 10 m, with stout densely tomentose branchlets and gnarled bole; leaves ovate or elliptic, cordate at base, rounded or subacute at apex, 10-25 cm x 5-15 cm, densely white-tomentellous and conspicuously reticulate beneath with 15-20 pairs of prominent lateral nerves; flowers crowded in terminal, subspiciform few-branched panicles, white or pinkish, fertile stamens 15; fruit rough-skinned, ellipsoid, about 5 cm long, finely warted
ethnobotany: fruit edible
Neocarya.macrophylla.Djen.JH.jpg
Neocarya.macrophylla.fr.Djen.JH.jpg
leaf.fruit.Wiki http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/Neocarya_macrophylla_0002.jpg/800px-Neocarya_macrophylla_0002.jpg
Parinari
Parinari curatellifolia
records: Sotuba, Sikasso, Bougouni (Boudet); record for Djenne erroneous, should be Neocarya macrophylla (JH)
habitat: wooded savanna
notes: tree to 25 feet with black fissured bark; leaves rounded at apex, rounded or slightly cuneate (wedge-like) at base, oblong-elliptic 5-17 cm x 3-8 cm, with 15-25 pairs of lateral nerves prominent beneath, tomentose (pale green) beneath; infloresence a lax open many-flowered panicle; calyx tube 0.2-0.5 cm long; sepals acute, flower buds enclosed by a pair of bracts as long as themselves; fertile stamens 7-8; petals white; fruit ovoid up to 3.5 cm long
flower.CIRAD http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/p/parinari_curatellifolia
Virtual Field Herbarium http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/VFH/image/index.php?taxonomy=1255&last=5
[monocots]
Gloriosa
Gloriosa simplex (see G. superba)
Gloriosa superba var. superba (syn G. simplex)
records: none (Boudet); Kikara, Douentza area (JH)
habitat: inselbergs (JH)
notes: shrub, spectacular crimson flowers
Gloriosa.superba.fl.Kik.spcA2.JH.jpg
leaf.flower http://img313.imageshack.us/img313/1497/amsterdampics1067ew4.jpg
flower (G. simplex, CIRAD)) http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/g/gloriosa_simplex
Virtual Field Herbarium http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/VFH/image/index.php?taxonomy=537&last=5
Anogeissus
Anogeiussus leiocarpa (often spelled leiocarpus with masculine gender)
records: Bamako, Bandiagara, Nioro (Boudet); Menaka, Douentza (JH)
habitat: non-swampy depressions
notes: tall, slender tree 15-25 m, leaves (sub-)opposite; oval leaf 4-7 cm x 1.5-2.5 cm; 4-8 lateral nerves, many fine secondary nerves; spherical fruit
Anogeissus.leiocarpa.entire.Anda.JH.jpg
Anogeissus.leiocarpa.lf.spc.JH.jpg
Anogeissus.leiocarpa.fr.Men.JH.jpg
Virtual Field Herbarium http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/VFH/image/index.php?taxonomy=543&last=5
flower (CIRAD, note spelling): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/a/anogeissus_leiocarpus
Combretum
key to fruits:
5-winged C. aculeatum
4-winged others
Combretum aculeatum
records: Timbuktu, Sanga, Adrar, Segou (Boudet)
habitat: sandy
notes: bushy shrub, leaves often opposite (s.t. verticillate by 3) or s.t. subopposite or alternate; oval leaf 1-5 cm x 0.8-3 cm; thorn-like old petioles may remain after leaf falls; white flowers with red calices in small terminal panicles; fruit with 5 wings
Combretum.aculeatum.fl.Hom.JH.jpg
Combretum.aculeatum.fr.Hom.JH.jpg
Combretum.aculeatum.Hom.JH.jpg
flower http://www.worldbotanical.com/Combretum-aculeatum-br.jpg
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/c/combretum_aculeatum
Combretum adenogonium (syns C. ghasalense, C. fragrans)
records: Niono, Sikasso, Bandiagara-Mopti (Boudet)
habitat: savanna
notes (FWTA2 C. ghasalense): tree to 8 m; top and bottom of leaf of similar color when fresh; petals cream or yellow; young fruits red and glutinous, becoming pale brown
Combretum.adenogonium(fragrans).Kew.JH.jpg
Combretum collinum
--, subsp. geitonophyllum (Berhaut as C. geitonophyllum)
records: Nioro, Kita, Sotuba (Boudet)
habitat: Soudanian
notes: shrub or tree 4-6 m, leaves often subverticillate by 4 (or 3), or alternate on some branches; elliptical leaf 6-12 cm x 3-6 cm; 8-12 arc-ed lateral nerves not reaching edge; green-yellow flowers in axillary spiciform racemes 2-6 cm; 4-winged fruits 2.5 cm wide, with down
--, subsp. hypopilinum (Berhaut as C. hypopilinum)
records: Bandiagara to Mopti (Boudet, single record)
notes: shrub or tree 3-6 m, often ramified at base, leaves often verticillate by 4 but s.t. opposite or alternate at end of branch; leaf elliptical or oblong-elliptical 6-15 cm x 3-6 cm, petiole 12-20 mm; axillary flower spikes 4-6 cm long, petals yellow; fruits 4-winged 2.5 cm x 2 cm
leaf.fruits.Wiki http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/Combretum_collinum_Bild0860.jpg/800px-Combretum_collinum_Bild0860.jpg
flower.CIRAD http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/c/combretum_collinum
Virtual Field Herbarium http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/VFH/image/index.php?taxonomy=1320&last=5
Combretum fragrans (see C. adenogonium)
Combretum geitonophyllum (see C. collinum subsp. geitonophyllum)
Combretum ghasalense (see C. adenogonium)
Combretum glutinosum
records: Gossi, Mopti-Djenne, Douentza, Labbezanga, Sanga, Bamako (Boudet); common in the plains from Hombori through northern and central Dogon country
habitat: savanna
notes: tree 4-12 m, leaves mostly verticillate by 4, s.t. opposite or alternate; variable leaf shape, roughly elliptical or oblong 6-10 cm x 3-4 cm, 7-10 lateral nerves; bottom of leaf with prominent venation, and lighter-colored than top when fresh; leaf not particularly viscous (sticky) in this region in spite of name; petiole 0.5-1 cm; inflorescence in axillary spikes with substantial peduncles, or with leaves, 4-6 cm long, small green-yellow flowers; fruits pale brown, 2.5-3 cm x 2.5-4 cm, 4-winged
Combretum.glutinosum.Beni.JH.jpg
Combretum.glutinosum.Kew.JH.jpg
Combretum.glutinosum.trunk.Boumbam.JH.jpg
Combretum.glutinosum.Tup.9.06.JH.jpg
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/c/combretum_glutinosum
Combretum lecardii
records: Bandiagara, Sanga, Bamako-Sikasso (Boudet)
habitat: various
notes: bushy shrub or scrambler 1-2 m, paired opposite leaves; leaf widely elliptical or obovate 6-15 cm x 5-8 cm; petiole 1-3 cm; red flowers in dense panicles at tip of twigs when tree is defoliated; fruits 4-winged, about as wide as long
Combretum.lecardii.1.Kew.JH.jpg
Combretum.lecardii.2.Kew.JH.jpg
Combretum micranthum
records: San, Bandiagara, Sanga, Koulikoro (Boudet)
habitat: rocky hillsides, depressions
notes: bushy shrub 2-5 m, paired opposite leaves, leaves bright green then red when drying; white flowers in fasciculate spikes when plant is defoliated; reddish-brown fruit 4-winged, about as wide as long, 1.5 cm
Combretum.micranthum_fl_Gasa_July_07
Combretum.micranthum.fr.Beni.10.06.JH.jpg
Combretum.micranthum.Hom.JH.jpg
Combretum.micranthum.Kew.JH.jpg
Virtual Field Herbarium http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/VFH/image/index.php?taxonomy=1381&last=5
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/c/combretum_micranthum
Combretum molle (bushwillow)
records: Nioro, Yanfolila, Bounouko (Boudet)
habitat: savanna
notes: bushy shrub or tree 4-10 m; dark-grey deeply fissured bark; paired opposite leaves 8-15 cm x 5-6 cm, short petiole 2-4 mm; dense axillary flower spikes 2-4 cm on peduncles 1-2 cm; 4-winged fruits a little longer than wide
drawing http://www.bushwillow.com/images/jpgs/photos/bushwillow_tree.jpg
Virtual Field Herbarium http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/VFH/image/index.php?taxonomy=1225&last=5
Combretum nigricans
records: Koulikoro, Koloni (Boudet)
habitat: arid zones
notes: shrub or tree 4-8 m, paired opposite leaves; leaf obovate-elliptical to elliptical or oval-elliptical 6-9 cm x 3-5 cm, 7-9 lateral nerves; leaves and fruits darken when dried (reddish-brown); tuft of hairs at intersection of nerves; green-white flowers in axillary spiciform racemes, pedicels 3-4 mm; 4-winged fruits 2 cm x 1.5 cm, base red at maturity
images.Miura http://ss.jircas.affrc.go.jp/project/africa_dojo/Fakara_plants/Contents/images/Combrnig.jpg
Virtual Field Herbarium http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/VFH/image/index.php?taxonomy=1212&last=5
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/c/combretum_nigricans
Combretum nioroense
records: Nioro, Koulikoro, Kita, Bamako, Niono, Segou (Boudet)
notes: bushy shrub 2-4 m, paired opposite leaves; leaves like C. micranthum (but remain green when drying); green-yellow flowers in fasciculate spikes; pale brown 4-winged fruits 1.2-1.5 cm long, longer than wide, light-colored
Combretum.nioroense.Djen.JH.jpg
Combretum paniculatum
records: Bandiagara, Sikasso (Boudet, Suppl., p. 434)
habitat: beside ponds
notes: scrambling woody shrub with long decumbent branches, leaves opposite by 2, or verticillate by 3; leaf elliptical or oval-elliptical, about twice as long as wide, often with acuminate tip; petiole 1-2 cm, becoming thorny; vermilion-red flowers in large panicles of racemes, often when plant is defoliated; 4-winged fruits, often red-green before maturity
images.CIRAD http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/c/combretum_paniculatum
Virtual Field Herbarium http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/VFH/image/index.php?taxonomy=1417&last=5
Guiera
Guiera senegalensis
records: Douentza, Sanga, Bamako, Nioro, Menaka, Bougouni (Boudet)
habitat: unused fields (exhausted soils), lightly inundated depressions
notes: bushy shrub, leaves opposite or subopposite, grey-green, 3-5 cm x 1.5-2.5 cm; yellowish flowers in spherical capitula; fruits covered with long silky hairs (like spider's web)
Guiera.senegalensis.Hom.JH.jpg
Guiera.senegalensis.Tup.lOlOmpago.JH.jpg
Guiera.senegalensis.bud.Hom.spcA2.JH.jpg
Guiera.senegalensis.fl.Douen.JH.jpg
flower (CIRAD, misspelled): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/g/guieria_senegalensis
Pteleopsis
Pteleopsis habeensis (endangered sp.)
records: Bandiagara (escarpment), Koutiala (Boudet); pockets in Nigeria, Ghana
habitat: with C. micranthum and C. glutinosum, skeletel soil, ravines, cliffs
notes: small straggling shrub or tree 5-10 m, leaves usually opposite
reference: Kew Bull, 1953, p. 290; W Hawthorn. 1990. Field Guide to the Forest Trees of Ghana, Natural Resources Institute, Chatham and the Overseas Development Administration, London. 278 pp.; W D Hawthorne. 1995. Ecological Profiles of Ghanaian Forest Trees. Oxford Forestry Institute.
Terminalia (most have flat, winged fruits; very large leaves)
Terminalia albida
records: Bougouni-Sikasso (Boudet)
habitat: invades fallow fields
hybridization: may hybridize wtih T. avicennioides
notes: tree 6-12 m, leaves alternate; leaf 3 times longer than wide, 7-13 cm x 3-5 cm, young leaves silvery-whitish with silky pubescence, later tending toward glabrous; tomentose winged fruit 5-8 cm x 2-3 cm
Terminalia avicennioides
records: Hombori-Sombougou, Segou, Sanga, Bamako-Sotuba (Boudet); Anda (JH)
habitat: fallow fields, sandy soil
notes: shrub or tree 3-10 m, leaves alternate; leaf elliptical or oblong-elliptical 10-15 cm x 5-6 cm, widest in middle, whitish tomentose surface, turning brown when drying; petiole 1-2 cm and young twigs tomentose and whitish; white flowers in isolated axillary spiciform racemes, spikes 10-12 cm; velvety-tomentose winged fruit 5-6 cm x 2-2.5 cm
Terminalia.avicennioides.entire.Kubewel.JH.jpg
Terminalia.avicennioides.fol.Kubewel.JH.jpg
Terminalia.avicennioides.fr.Kubewel.JH.jpg
Terminalia.avicennioides.Kew.JH.jpg
Virtual Field Herbarium http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/VFH/image/index.php?taxonomy=1270&last=5
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/t/terminalia_avicennioides
Terminalia laxiflora
records: Macina, Yanfolila, Sanga
habitat: wooded savanna
notes: tree 8-12 m, leaves alternate, condensed at tip of twig; coriaceous leaf, top usually glabrous, underside glabrous or pubescent, oblong 15-20 cm x 6-9 cm; glabrous petiole 2-5 mm; flowers in isolated axillary spiciform racemes; glabrous winged fruits oblong or elliptical 6-9 cm x 2.5-3.5 cm
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/t/terminalia_laxifora
Terminalia macroptera
records: Bandiagara, Macina, Mopti-Djenne, Bamako (Boudet)
habitat: edges of inundated plains, riverbanks, deep soil
notes: tree 8-10 m, leaves alternate, slender at base, widest 2/3 way up, 15-35 cm x 5-12 cm condensed at tip of twig, lateral nerves prominent on both sides; petiole absent, s.t. weakly distinct, or 5-15 mm long; flowers in isolated axillary spikes 8-15 cm, calice white, 10 stamens per flower; glabrous winged fruit 8-10 cm x 3-4 cm, with tip often emarginate
Terminalia.macroptera_Songho_02_2008_fr_JH.jpg
Terminalia.macroptera.Kew.JH.jpg
Virtual Field Herbarium http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/VFH/image/index.php?taxonomy=1347&last=5
Terminalia mantaly (planted)
records: Douentza (planted) (JH)
notes: tree 5-10 m, branching horizontally, leaves heavily condensed at tip and at knots (appear verticillate), obovate leaf 3-5 cm x 1-2.5 cm, widest near top, edge crenelated near top, 3-5 cm x 1-2.5 cm; petiole absent or very short; flower spikes 3-6 cm; fruits are capsules 1.5-2 cm long
Terminalia.mantaly.culvit.Douen.JH.jpg
Terminalia.mantaly.Douen(planted).spcA2.JH.jpg
[monocots, herbs]
spathe with 2 lips pressed against each other: Commelina
not so
long spathe-like bract not with lips pressed against each other, petals fused at base: Cyanotis
not so
petals unequal (2 long, 1 short): Aneilema
petals equal, fruits capsules
inflorescence glabrous in form of dropping panicle, leaves 20 cm +: Murdannia
unilateral racemes, leaves rarely longer than 15 cm: Floscopa
Aneilema (genus differs from Commelina by lacking spathe tightly enclosing inflorescence)
Aneilema lanceolatum subsp. lanceolatum [not in Berhaut] [get description]
records: Bamako, Gourma (Boudet)
habitat: savanna on deep soil
Commelina
[inflorescence with few flowers enclosed in green spathe with 2 lips, flowers emerge from spathe when opening, petals free of each other, 2 large petals and 1 small petal, usually 3 fertile stamens]
key to spathes:
lower edges of spathe fused together: erecta, forsskaolii, benghalensis, nigritana
lower edges of spathe not fused together: diffusa, subulata
Commelina bracteosa (see C. erecta subsp. erecta)
Commelina benghalensis var. benghalensis
records: Bamako, Gao, Sanga (Boudet); northern Dogon country (JH)
habitat: fields, savanna
notes: decumbent, to 70 cm, leaves wide (oval to lanceolate) 3=8 cm x 1.5-3 cm, petals light blue to nearly white, 3 petals, one highly reduced, spathe fused in rear, regularly has underground stems with leaves; flowers Aug-Nov
images.Miura http://www.jircas.affrc.go.jp/project/africa_dojo/Fakara_plants/Contents/Species%20pages/Commeben.html
images.Hawaii http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/commelina_benghalensis.htm
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/c/commelina_benghalensis
Commelina diffusa subsp. diffusa
records: Bamako, Gao (rapids), Sanga (Boudet)
habitat: moist areas
notes: stems prostrate or scrambling then ascendant; leaf lanceoalte to elliptic 2-8 cm x 0.8-2 cm; spathe not fused, or fused only shortly next to peduncle; petals bright blue, rarely whitish; flowers Nov-Jan
foliage.flower http://spectrum.troy.edu/~diamond/pikepics/Commelinaerecta.JPG
flower.Missouri http://www.missouriplants.com/Bluealt/Commelina_diffusa_spathe.jpg
C.diffusa.Hawaii http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/commelina_diffusa.htm
Commelina erecta
-- subsp. erecta (Boudet as C. bracteosa)
records: Macina (ravine), Diarra (Boudet)
habitat: wooded savanna, galeries
notes: perennial, stem erect; leaf elliptic to oval-lanceolate, acuminate tip 5-13 cm x 2.5-3 cm; spathe fused; petals bright blue, rarely white; flowers July-Sept
--subsp. livingstonii (syn C. subalbescens)
records: Segou, Macina, Sanga, Bamako (Boudet)
habitat: fields, beside roads
flower http://www.missouriplants.com/Bluealt/Commelina_erecta_plant.jpg
flower http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/c/wcoer--wp27715.jpg
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/c/commelina_erecta
Commelina forskaolii (also spelled forsskaolii, forskalaei)
records: Timbuktu, Gao, Niono, Segou, Bamako (Boudet); common in Songhay and Dogon country (JH)
habitat: fields, dunes, roads
notes: generally prostrate, leaves elliptic to lanceolate, undulating, dark green, petals sky blue, spathe 8 to 13 mm, in each spathe, one flower has long peduncle, others barely emerge, spathe fused in rear, 3 petals, one of which is highly reduced, sometimes has underground stems with leaves
Commelina.forskaolii.Tupere.JH.jpg
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/c/commelina_forskaolaei
image.Miura http://www.jircas.affrc.go.jp/project/africa_dojo/Fakara_plants/Contents/Species%20pages/Commefor.html
Commelina nigritana ("Gambian dayflower") var. gambiae
records: Bamako, San (Boudet); now introduced as a weed in Florida
habitat: savanna, rice-fields
notes: erect or crawling then ascendant, 10 to 60 cm high, leaves narrow (linear to lanceolate), 5-9 cm x 0.5-1 cm wide, petals apricot yellow often with red spot at base; 3 petals, one of which is highly reduced, no "beak" of spathe, spathe 15-20 mm, fused in back, fairly long peduncle (5 to 15 mm) connecting spathe to stem, no underground stems
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/c/commelina_nigritana
Commelina subalbescens (see C. erecta subsp. livingstonii)
Commelina subulata
records: San, Bandiagara-Mopti, Koulikoro
notes: erect, 10 to 60 cm high, leaves very narrow (linear), 3 to 15 cm long and 1 to 5 mm wide, flowers apricot yellow, rarely blue, 3 petals, one of which is highly reduced, spathe divided into triangular part and a long "beak" joined to it at base, triangular part of spathe free (not fused) all the way down to peduncle, spathe connected by a very short peduncle (less than 5 mm), no underground stems
Aluka http://www.aluka.org/action/showMetadata?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.SPECIMEN.K000345560&pgs=
Cyanotis
[inflorescence dense, subtended by spathe-like leafy bract, with lips not pressed against each other; flowers inserted individually at axis of fairly large bracteoles; petals fused to each other at base forming a tube, 5-6 fertile stamens]
Cyanotis lanata
records: Koulikoro, Koro to Kiri, Kita, Sanga, Niono, Yanfolila (Boudet)
habitat: fields, rocky areas, occasionally inundated areas
notes: erect rigid stem, frequently ramified, 6 to 35 cm tall, stem distinctly purple shaded; leaf narrowly oblong-lanceolate 4-6 cm x 0.3-0.8 cm; flowers grouped in terminal glomerules, with bracts/spathes 2-4 cm having a single flower, spathe sickle-shaped (falciform), very short (7 mm long), only top of flower is visible after opening (7 to 10 AM), 3 similar petals, welded to a tube at the base, rounded and free above, petals blue, purple, pink or white, 5 to 6 stamens with long blue or violet hairs, with bright yellow anthers, often in fields (e.g. peanut), leaves 3 to 7 mm wide, 5 to 8 cm long; flowers Sept-Oct
images.Miura http://ss.jircas.affrc.go.jp/project/africa_dojo/Fakara_plants/Contents/images/Cyanolan.jpg
Floscopa
Floscopa glomerata subsp. glomerata [get photo]
records: Gao, Koutiala, Sotuba (Boudet)
habitate: depressions, swamps
notes: erect or crawling-ascendant, not much ramified, stems 20-50 cm; leaf sessile, oblong-lanceolate 5-12 cm x 0.5-1.2 cm, not attenuated at base (sheathing stem); inflorescence dense with 5-15 cymes; sepals light brown, petals mauve; capsule with 2 sections
Murdannia
Murdannia simplex
records: Gourma, Sikasso, Bandiagara to Kani-Kombole (Boudet)
notes: perennial, hard erect stems 25-60 cm; sessile leaf, linear or linear-lanceolate 7-30 cm x 0.3-0.12 cm; weak panicle, bracts shorter than cymes; 3 equal petals, blue-violet; capsule with 3 sections
flower.CIRAD http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/m/murdannia_simplex
Convolvolus (mostly Saharan)
Convolvulus auricomus (spelled "auricoma" in Boudet)
records: Timetrine (Boudet)
habitat: sand
Convolvulus fatmensis
records: Oum el Jeiem, Khnachiche (Boudet)
images.Algeria http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=convolvulus%20fatmensis
Convolvulus prostratus
records: Nioro to Kayes, Tin Amassin
habitat: moist depression
Evolvulus
Evolvulus alsinoides
records: Ansongo, Sikasso, Bandiagara, Gossi, Koulikoro (Boudet)
habitat: sand, fallow fields
notes: herb, more or less erect, base semi-woody; leaves alternate, elliptical 3-4 cm x 8-12 mm, sessile; small isolated blue flowers on axillary peduncle 2-3 cm, s.t. with 1 or 2 tiny bracts on peduncle a little below flower; small capsule 2 mm wide
Evolvulus.alsinoides.Boni.9.06.JH.jpg
Evolvulus.alsinoides.spc04-282.Beni.JH.jpg
image.Miura http://www.jircas.affrc.go.jp/project/africa_dojo/Fakara_plants/Contents/Species%20pages/Evolvals.html
Ipomoea (trailing or s.t. climbing vines), grouped by leaf-shape
a. cordiform
Ipomoea acanthocarpa (see I. obscura var. obscura)
Ipomoea asarifolia (syn I. repens)
records: Timbuktu, Sotuba, Gao, Sikasso, Macina (Boudet)
habitat: sands at edge of inundatable areas
notes: long trailing vine or bushy plant, oval cordiform leaf 8-10 cm long, top rounded with tiny point, or indented; large mauve flowers
Ipomoea.asarifolia.patch.JH.jpg
Ipomoea.asarifolia.fr.Songho.Jan2008.JH.JPG
flower http://www.cnpgc.embrapa.br/publicacoes/livros/plantastoxicas/batatarana.jpg
Ipomoea involucrata
records: Finnkolo (Boudet, only record)
habitat: edge of forest gallery
notes: twining vine; leaf shaped like I. acanthocarpa but not so many nerves branching off at base (first nerve has several curving secondary branches under it); leaf 4-7 cm x 3-6 cm, mucronated obtuse pointed tip; light mauve flower 5 cm x 3-4 cm is sessile on a wide involucrum, with many tiny linear bracts; involucrum is at end of an axillary peduncle 5-10 cm; peduncle and stems pubescent
Ipomoea obscura var. obscura (in Berhaut & Boudet as I. acanthocarpa)
records: Mopti-Bandiagara, Hombori, Gossi, Menaka (Boudet)
habitat: heavy soils, depressions, riverbanks
notes: twining vine; cordiform leaf 6-10 cm x 5-9 cm, triangular acuminate tip (cf. Tinospora bakis, Menispermaceae), about 4 nerves on each side emerging from base, 3-4 other secondary nerves off central nerve; petiole 5-7 cm; white flowers with corolla 3-4 cm wide, grouped by 2 or 3 at tip of axillary peduncle 3-4 cm long; capsule with sharp point at tip
Ipomoea.obscura.var.obscura.Fombori.12.06.JH.jpg
Ipomoea.obscura.var.obscura.spc.JH.jpg
flower.Zimbabwe http://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/images/14/147860-1.jpg
flower.CIRAD http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/i/ipomoea_acanthocarpa
images(I.obscura).Hawaii http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/ipomoea_obscura.htm
b. sagittate (cordate at base, then tapering slowly to point at tip)
Ipomoea aquatica (syn I. reptans)
records: Gossi, Douentza-Hombori, Gao, Sanga, Bamako (Boudet)
habitat: edge of water, often floating
notes: floating vine; leaf usually thin (e.g. linear-sagittate) but variable; large violet-mauve flower (cf. I. asarifolia)
Ipomoea.aquatica.bed.Beni.JH.jpg
Ipomoea.aquatica.Gosi.spcA2.JH.jpg
Ipomoea.aquatica.Kabara.JH.jpg
images.Hawaii http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/ipomoea_aquatica.htm
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/i/ipomoea_aquatica
Ipomoea eriocarpa
records: Niono, Bamako, El Oualadji, Gao, Yanfolila (Boudet)
habitat: wet clayey soil, s.t. weed
notes: twining vine; leaf saggito-lanceolate, with lower sides bulging out as rounded "earlobes," 7-12 cm x 3-5 cm wide at base; petioles: 1-6 cm long; petioles and stems pubescent; smallish mauve flowers 12-15 mm wide; tiny peduncle 3-8 mm
flower http://www.seedsplants.com/PH/IPOeriFL01.jpg
c. oblong, lanceolate, elliptic
Ipomoea blepharophylla
records: Yanfolila (Boudet)
habitat: plateau
notes: perennial tuberous root; twining or long trailing vine; leaf oblong-lanceolate 6-10 cm x 1-2.5 cm, becoming linear at extremity of branch, petiole 0.5-1 cm; mauve flower 4-5 cm long, spreading at tip to up to 5 cm wide, calyx with 5 linear-lanceolate lobes 1.5 cm long; peduncle 1-1.5 cm long with two opposite linear bracts just under calyx; fruit is capsule surrounded by lobes of calyx that have grown to 2 cm long (cf. I. vagans)
Ipomoea.blepharophylla.Kik.spcA2.JH.jpg
flower.Zimbabwe http://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/image-display.php?species_id=147560&image_id=1
Ipomoea coscinosperma
records: Dire, Bandiagara-Mopti, Gao, Kidal, Menaka, Adrar (Boudet)
habitat: wet or clayey areas
notes: twining or trailing vine; leaf oblong or elliptic-lanceolate 5-9 cm x 1-3 cm, becoming linear on flowering stems; petiole 0.5-1 cm or larger; petioles and stems hairy; flowers/fruits practically sessile, isolated or fasciculate (2-3 together), small flower with corolla pale mauve or pure white 9 mm wide; capsule (not overarched by calyx lobes)
Ipomoea.coscinosperma.Boni.9.06.JH.jpg
Ipomoea.coscinosperma.Kik.JH.jpg
d. hastate or deltoid (roughly spear-shape)
Ipomoea vagans
records: Tasseguela, Koro-Bandiagara, Gao, Bamako
habitat: sandy old fields
notes: annual, usually trailing; violin-shaped leaf, base of leaf roughly right-angled to petiole, sides tapering in then widening toward obtuse tip; petiole 0.5-2 cm; petiole and stems pubescent; flowers isolated or by 2-3, with white corolla 1 cm wide; peduncle reaching 8-12 cm with fruit; capsule overarched by bracts of calyx
Ipomoea.vagans.Boni.9.06.JH.jpg
Ipomoea verticillata
records: Tabankort (Gao), Niono
habitat: sand, limey clay
notes: long trailing vine; leaf hastate (or cordiform) 3-5 cm x 2-4 cm with "earlobes" at bases of sides, tip obtuse and mucronate; petiole 2-6 cm; petiole covered with hairs, stems pubescent with hairs directed downward; tiny flower with white corolla 5-6 mm wide; flower and fruit barely emerging from teeth of calyx
e. trilobate
Ipomoea dichroa
records: Douentza, Tin Tadeni, Gao, Menaka (Boudet)
habitat: sands, anthropic or riverbank, weed
notes: twining vine, leaf trilobate 6-9 cm long and wide or a little longer than wide; petiole 4-8 cm; petioles and stems covered with hairs 1-2 mm long; flowers with mauve or whitish corolla (darker violet in middle), on axillary cyme, peduncle 2-6 cm; calyx with long lanceolate sepals 12 mm, later overarching capsule
Ipomoea.dichroa.Kubewel.JH.jpg
Ipomoea.dichroa.Kub.9.06.JH.jpg
f. digitilobate (finger-like lobes) with entire (smooth) lobes
Ipomoea mauritiana
records: Sikasso (Boudet)
notes: (closely resembles I. pes-tigridis) twining vine; digitilobate leaf with 7-9 lobes each 5-7 cm long without dentations or secondary lobes; lower two generally very small, each lobe 5-7 cm x 1-2.5 cm; petiole 2-6 cm; many reddish points make petiole and stem rough to the touch; 2-15 flowers bunched in pedunculate axillary panicle; corolla bright red-violet, 5-6 cm wide; grains with long white silky hairs
drawing http://digi.azz.cz/Book001/images/Ipomoea_mauritiana_D200.jpg
Ipomoea pes-tigridis var. pes-tigridis
records: Bandiagara-Mopti, Niono (Boudet)
habitat: sandy old fields, thickets
notes: twining or trailing vine; digitilobate (rarely trilobate) leaf, 8-10 cm long and wide, with 7-9 lobes deeply separated; long petiole 5-10 cm; petioles and stems covered with hairs 3-4 mm long; 10-lobed pale mauve or pink flowers 3-4 cm wide, with white center and "star"
Virtual Field Herbarium http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/VFH/image/index.php?taxonomy=1327&last=5
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/i/ipomoea_pes_tigridis
g. digitilobate (finger-like) or pennatilobate (winged lobes), with further lobes/dentations on main lobes
Ipomoea coptica var. coptica
records: Niono, Gao, Mopti-Bandiagara (Boudet)
habitat: sand
notes: annual herb, twining or trailing, digitilobate leaf with some lobes approaching central nerve, lobes 2-3 cm long, with dentate edges; petiole 1-2.5 cm often with 2 tiny folioles at base; angular stem; 2-3 white or cream flowers on a long axillary peduncle 2-5 cm (vs. tiny peduncle for I. kotschyana), branching into pedicels 7-15 mm long with tiny bracts at branching pont; black grains in capsules
Ipomoea.coptica.Tup.9.06.JH.jpg
image.Miura http://ss.jircas.affrc.go.jp/project/africa_dojo/Fakara_plants/Contents/images/Ipomocop.jpg
Ipomoea kotschyana
records: Timbuktu, Sarayamou (Boudet)
habitat: alluvial (gardens)
notes: annual trailing vine, stems radiating out in all directions; pennatilobate leaf; lobes 3-5 cm longe; petiole 1-3 cm; very small, nearly sessile axillary flowers, pink or pale mauve, 5-8 mm wide, on tiny peduncle with 2 opposite linear bracts 1 cm long; round capsule
Ipomoea.kotschyana.Tim.spcA2.JH.jpg
(other)
Ipomoea batatas (sweet potato)
images.Hawaii http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/ipomoea_batatas.htm
Ipomoea sinensis subsp. blepharosepala (not in Berhaut)
records: Gao, Doro (Boudet)
habitat: colluvial
flower http://www.exot-nutz-zier.de/images/prod_images/Ipomoea_sinensis.jpg
Jacquemontia
Jacquemontia tamnifolia
records: Nioro, San (Boudet)
habitat: anthropic weed
notes: twining or trailing vine; leaves cordiform but not very wide, 5-8 cm x 4-6 cm; blue (or white) flowers, sessile, in dense capitate glomerules on axillary peduncles 4-7 cm long
Jacquemontia.tamnifolia.Beni.10.06.JH.jpg
Jacquemontia.tamnifolia.Tupere.JH.jpg
flower http://cricket.biol.sc.edu/herb/JJ/Jacquemontia_tamnifolia3.jpg
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/j/jacquemontia_tamnifolia
Merremia
Merremia aegyptia (spelled "aegyptiaca" in Berhaut)
records: Niono, Bamako, Menaka (Boudet)
habitat: anthropic around ponds, riverbank thickets
notes: twining vine; alternate 5-part digitate leaves; stems, petioles, and calyx very hairy; white flowers
Merremia.aegyptia.Kik.spcA2.JH.jpg
fruit(closeup) http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/600max/starr_050729_3118_merremia_aegyptia.jpg
images.Hawaii http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/merremia_aegyptia.htm
Merremia pinnata
records: Koulikoro, Bandiagara-Mopti, Nampala, San (Boudet)
habitat: deep sands
notes: twining or trailing vine; leaves roughly elliptical 2-5 cm x 1-2.5 cm divided into some 15 pairs of linear lobes resembling folioles (cf. Tephrosia bracteolata and T. linearis, Fabaceae); white or cream flowers, usually by 2-3, on axillary peduncle 4-6 cm
image.Miura http://ss.jircas.affrc.go.jp/project/africa_dojo/Fakara_plants/Contents/images/Merrepin.jpg
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/m/merremia_pinnata
Merremia tridentata subsp. angustifolia
records: San, Segou, Timbuktu (Boudet)
habitat: fields in deep sand
notes: annual twining or trailing vine; linear leaf 3-7 cm x 0.3-1.5 cm, with some sharp dentations around the base; pale yellow flower
image.Miura http://ss.jircas.affrc.go.jp/project/africa_dojo/Fakara_plants/Contents/images/Merretri.jpg
website: http://www.cucurbit.org/
Citrullus (leaves deeply-lobed)
Citrullus colocynthis (syn Colocynthis vulgaris)
records: Gao, In Tessalit, Lac Faguibine, Timbuktu (Boudet)
habitat: sub-Saharan sands
notes: trailing vine; pennatilobate leaf 8-12 cm x 6-8 cm, based 3-nerved, covered by coarse hairs; petiole 3-6 cm; petiole and stems coarse; tendril bifurcating closer to tip than to base; stem fluted (cannelé); large male flowers 2-2.5 mm wide with obtuse tip, peduncle 1.5-2 cm; female flowers on roughly globular ovary with peduncle 1-1.5 cm, and with small obovate stipule at base of peduncle
ethnobotany: bitter-tasting, not eaten by people, s.t. eaten by livestock
Citrullus.colocynthis.Hom.JH.jpg
fruit.Algeria.Meignant http://pageperso.aol.fr/fmeignant/Col.html
drawing http://www.bi.ku.dk/postkort/tavler/Citrullus_colocynthis.jpg
images.Algeria http://www.sahara-nature.com/plantes.php?aff=nom&plante=citrullus%20colocynthis
image (Libya): http://www.ecliptomaniacs.com/2006/florafauna/pictures/DSCN2305bs.jpg
Citrullus lanatus (watermelon, cultivated and wild)
records (wild): Niono, Adrar, Sanga, Timbuktu (Boudet)
habitat: sandy
notes: trailing vine; pennatilobate leaf 10-15 cm x 7-12 cm, base 3-nerved, short pubescence mainly on nerves; petiole 5-15 cm; petiole and stem with short woolly pubescence when young; tendril bifurcating 4-5 cm from base (often closer to base than to tip); 5 lobes of flower have pointed tips; small male flowers (16-20 mm wide), peduncle 1.5-2 cm; female flowers on roughly globular ovary, peduncle 1-2 cm, no stipule
ethnobotany: edible raw (esp. red-fleshed); some varieties (green, globular) cooked as vegetable; three varieties of seeds are dried and sold in Timbuktu for eating or cooking (Timbuktu Songhay fombu, kaney, musamusa)
Citrullus.lanatus.wild.Dianw.JH.jpg
Citrullus.lanatus.fombu.kaney.musamusa.Tim.JH.jpg
Citrullus.lanatus.dry.seeds.Tim.JH.jpg
Coccinea
Coccinea grandis
records: Goundam, Dire, Galo, Mopti-Bandiagara (Boudet)
habitat: thickets on wet sandy-clayey soil
notes: scrambling or liana; leaf variable (pentagonal or digitilobate), 5-12 cm long and wide, 5-nerved at base; petiole 2-5 cm; tendril simple (not bifurcating); male flower pale yellow 3-4 cm wide, 5 lobes with veinlets, peduncle 3-5 cm; female flower on oblong-lanceolate (i.e. narrow) ovary; oblong fruit the size of pigeon egg, green with white marbling when unripe, becoming half green half red, then entirely scarlet red when ripe (cf. Kedrostis hirtella)
ethnobotany: not usually eaten
Coccinea.grandis.fr.Beni.JH.jpg
Coccinea.grandis.fr.Walo.JH.jpg
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/c/coccinia_grandis
Ctenolepis
Ctenolepis cerasiformis
records: In Tillit, Gossi, Bara (Boudet)
habitat: with Acacia senegal, brousse tigree
notes: twining vine with thin stems; tendrils simple; leaf trilobate, with smaller lobes and dentations, 3-nerved at base, short hairs; petiole 2-5 cm, with a leaflike bract at base with comb-like points under flower; tiny green-white flower 4-5 mm wide, star-shaped male flowers grouped 4-6 on axillary peduncle 2-4 cm; female flowers on globular ovary with tiny pedicel 2-3 mm; spherical berry-like fruit 1-1.2 cm wide, smooth, bright red at maturity, on short peduncle 2-4 mm.
ethnobotany: not usually eaten
images http://www.cucurbit.org/family/species/Ctenolepis/images/
flower (CIRAD): http://fleurs.cirad.fr/fleurs_d_afrique_tropicale/c/ctenolepis_cerasiiformis
Colocynthis (see Citrullus colocynthis)
Cucumis
Cucumis ficifolius (syn C. abyssinicus, in part C. figarei)
records: none (Boudet)
notes: perennial, usually prostrate, thickened rootstock
taxonomy: very close to C. pustulatus ("C. figarei" is distributed between these two spp.)
Cucumis figareivar. ficifolius (see C. pustulatus)
Cucumis melo subsp. agrestis (wild)
records: Gao, Adrar, Timbuktu, Djenne, Sanga, Bamako (Boudet)
habitat: sandy, with sunlight
notes: trailing; leaf 5-9 cm long and wide, contour sinuous (not deeply lobed) with tiny dentations all around, base 3-nerved; petiole 3-10 cm; petiole and stem covered with long rigid hairs 2-3 mm; tendrils simple; bright yellow flowers 1.5-2 cm wide, peduncle 1-1.5 cm, male flowers by 2-4; smooth ovoid fruit 3-4 cm x 2-3 cm with longitudinal dark-green bands, hairy when young
ethnobotany: usually not
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