Dissotis welwitschii Cogn.

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Dissotis welwitschii

Habit
Perennially wet dambo grassland
Lubuli area, dambo along pathway to Chilongo Falls
Jan 2020
Photo: Nick Wightman

Dissotis welwitschii

Inflorescence
Perennially wet dambo grassland
Lubuli area, dambo along pathway to Chilongo Falls
Jan 2020
Photo: Nick Wightman

Dissotis welwitschii

Habit
Dambo grassland
Chipili area, above Kalonde Falls
Jan 2020
Photo: Nick Wightman

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Species details: Click on each item to see an explanation of that item (Note: opens a new window)

Synonyms:
Common names:
Frequency: Occasional
Status: Native
Description:
Perennial herb 0.3-1 m tall, glabrous throughout; stems numerous, erect, unbranched, 4-gonous or slightly 4-winged, densely leafy, pale green to reddish; leaves opposite, sessile, upright, 4-12.5 x 1-4.5 cm, ovate-lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, margins entire, somewhat discolorous, shining light green above and yellowish-green below, turning reddish with age, longitudinally 3-5 nerved; flowers 5-merous, in terminal pyramidal lax to somewhat dense panicles up to 20 cm long; pedicles 2-10 mm long; bracts 14-18 x 12-18 mm, broadly ovate, emarginate, purple, scarious; receptacle 8-9 x 4-5 mm, cylindric, dark red or purple; sepals 6-7 x 2-3 mm, ovate-oblong, truncate, emarginate or bilobed at apex, thin, purplish; intersepalar segments absent; petals c. 2 x 1.6 cm, obovate, bright pink to purplish-violet; longer stamens – anthers 9-10 mm, pseudoconnective 9-11 mm long; shorter stamens – anthers c. 6 mm long, pseudoconnective c. 1 mm long; fructiferous receptacle 8-9 x 5.5-7 mm, urceolate, contracted above the capsule, usually very dark purple; capsule subspherical; seeds minutely tuberculate.
Type location:
Angola
Notes:
Derivation of specific name: welwitschii: named after the Austrian botanist, Friedrich Martin Welwitsch (1806-1872).
Habitat: Marshy places in clearings and evergreen “mushitu”.
Altitude range:
Flowering time:Jan - May
Worldwide distribution: Angola to northern Zambia
Zambian distribution (Flora Zambesiaca): N
Zambian distribution (Provinces): N
Growth form(s):
Endemic status:
Red data list status:
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters: Display spot characters for this species
Content last updated: Wednesday 11 March 2020
Literature:

Fernandes, R. & A. (1978). Melastomataceae Flora Zambesiaca 4 Page 260.

Other sources of information about Dissotis welwitschii:

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Dissotis welwitschii
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Dissotis welwitschii
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Dissotis welwitschii
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Dissotis welwitschii
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Dissotis welwitschii
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Dissotis welwitschii
JSTOR Plant Science: Dissotis welwitschii
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Dissotis welwitschii
Plants of the World Online: Dissotis welwitschii
Tropicos: Dissotis welwitschii
Wikipedia: Dissotis welwitschii


Copyright: Mike Bingham, Annette Willemen, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Mark Hyde, 2011-24

Bingham, M.G., Willemen, A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. and Hyde, M.A. (2024). Flora of Zambia: Species information: Dissotis welwitschii.
https://www.zambiaflora.com/speciesdata/species.php?species_id=191980, retrieved 16 April 2024

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