3112.000 Maerua Forssk.

Description of the genus

Shrublets, shrubs, trees or climbers. Spines 0 but lateral branches may be sharp at the tip. Leaves alternate or crowded on short side shoots, simple or 3(-5)-foliolate. Flowers bisexual. Receptacle cylindric or funnel-shaped, often produced into a disk. Sepals (3-)4. Petals 0 or (3-)4(-8). Androgynophore shorter than the sepals. Gynophore elongated. Fruit spherical, ovoid, ellipsoid, oblong-ellipsoid or cylindric, sometimes beaded.

Worldwide: 50 species in tropical and South Africa, extending to India

Zimbabwe: 14 taxa.

Insects associated with this genus:
Belenois aurota (Brown-veined white) Food plant
Belenois thysa (False dotted border) Food plant
Colotis evippe (Smoky orange tip) Food plant
Colotis ione (Bushveld purple tip) Food plant
Eronia leda (Autumn-leaf vagrant, Oranges-and-lemons) Larval food plant
Maerua juncea subsp. crustata

Links to taxa:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesFZ divisionsContent
angolensis DC.N,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
buxifolia (Welw. ex Oliv.) Gilg & Gilg-Ben.N,CDescription
cafra (DC.) PaxEDescription
edulis (Gilg & Gilg-Ben.) DeWolfN,W,E,SDescription, Image
friesii Gilg & Gilg-Ben.N,CDescription, Image
juncea Pax[Agg]N,W,C,E,S
juncea Pax subsp. crustata (Wild) WildW,E,SDescription, Image
juncea Pax subsp. juncea N,W,C,EDescription, Image
kirkii (Oliv.) F. WhiteN,C,E,SDescription, Image
nervosa (Hochst.) Oliv.EDescription, Image
parvifolia PaxN,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
prittwitzii Gilg & Gilg-Ben.N,W,CDescription, Image
salicifolia Wild[End][VU]NDescription
triphylla A. Rich. subsp. pubescens (Klotzsch) DeWolfN,C,E,SDescription, Image

Other sources of information about Maerua:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Maerua
Flora of Caprivi: Maerua
Flora of Caprivi: cultivated Maerua
Flora of Malawi: Maerua
Flora of Mozambique: Maerua
Flora of Zambia: Maerua

External websites:

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

Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave, 2002-24

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2024). Flora of Zimbabwe: Genus page: Maerua.
https://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=633, retrieved 28 March 2024

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