Dissotis welwitschii
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Habit
Perennially wet dambo grassland
Lubuli area, dambo along pathway to Chilongo Falls
Jan 2020
Photo: Nick Wightman
Inflorescence
Perennially wet dambo grassland
Lubuli area, dambo along pathway to Chilongo Falls
Jan 2020
Photo: Nick Wightman
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: (metres) | |
| Flowering time: | Jan - May |
| Worldwide distribution: | Angola to northern Zambia |
| FZ divisions: | 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 |
| Images 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 welwitschiiAfrican Plant Database: 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