Leea guineensis

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Ornamental shrub from tropical Africa with leaves 3-4 compound , often coppery or purplish; flowers purplish to red; and fruit dark red, about half an inch in diameter.

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Description

Family Vitaceae

Woody climbers , sometimes vines , rarely small succulent trees , hermaphroditic or polygamo-monoecious to polygamo-dioecious . Stems unarmed , sometimes with conspicuous lenticels , or bark sometimes shredding (in most species of Vitis) ; branches often swollen at 3-7-lacunar nodes; pith continuous or interrupted by diaphragms at nodes; tendrils simple , bifurcate to trifurcate , or 4-12-branched (in Parthenocissus), usually leaf-opposed, rarely tendrils absent. Raphide sacs present in parenchymatous tissues . Leaves simple, lobed or unlobed, or digitately or pedately compound to 1-3-pinnately compound, alternate, distichous, variously toothed , commonly with multicellular , stalked , caducous spherical structures known as "pearl" glands ; stipules 2 or rarely absent, often caducous. Flowers small, with prophylls, in panicles, corymbs, or rarely spikes, often leaf-opposite, pseudo-terminal , or axillary (in Cayratia and Tetrastigma), actinomorphic , hypogynous, 4- or 5(-7 as in Rhoicissus) -merous. Calyx with 4 or 5(-7) small teeth or lobes or a continuous ring. Petals valvate , 4 or 5(-7), free or basally connate , or distally connate forming a calyptra (e.g. , in Vitis) . Stamens 4 or 5(-7), antepetalous ; anthers introrse , dehiscing longitudinally, tetrasporangiate or rarely bisporangiate . Floral disk intrastaminal , ring-shaped, cupular, or gland-shaped. Ovary superior, 2-loculed; ovules 2 per locule; placentation axile , appearing nearly basal, apotropous or anatropous , bitegmic, crassinucellar; style simple, connate; stigma discoid or capitate, rarely 4-lobed (Tetrastigma), not papillate . Fruit a berry, 1-4-seeded. Seeds endotestal, with an abaxial chalazal knot and an adaxial raphe with 2 furrows , one on each side; embryo straight, small; endosperm oily, proteinaceous, copious , ruminate .

About 14 genera and ca. 900 species: worldwide, but mostly in tropical and subtropical regions; eight genera and 146 species (87 endemic, two introduced ) in China.

The family is important for grapes, wine, and raisins (especially Vitis vinifera, and several other species and hybrids of Vitis) . There are a few ornamental climbers in the genera Ampelopsis, Cissus, Parthenocissus, and Tetrastigma, of which Parthenocissus tricuspidata of China and Japan and P. quinquefolia of eastern North America are well-known examples. Some plants (e.g., Ampelopsis japonica, Cissus quadrangularis, and Tetrastigma hemsleyanum) are highly regarded medicines.[1]

Genus Leea

Erect shrubs or small trees . Leaves alternate, 1-4-pinnate, rarely simple or 3-foliolate. Inflorescences compound dichasial or umbelliform. Flowers 4- or 5-merous, bisexual . Lower part of petals adnate to staminodial tube on disk. Apex of staminodial tube 5-lobed, connate to each other by thinner tissue to form sinuses; apex of lobes retuse or 2-lobed, retusely apiculate to bifid. Filaments flattened, light brown, alternating with staminodial lobes, curved inward; anthers inverted and packed within staminodial tube in bud; filaments straight and anthers long-exserted in open flower. Disk deeply cupulate . Ovary discoid , 4-6(-10) -locular; ovule 1 per locule; style short; stigma slightly thickened. Berry depressed-subglobose, 4-6(-10) -seeded. Endosperm ruminate .

Geographic distribution is the same as that of the family .[2]

Physical Description

Habitat

Forests , shrublands.[3].

Biology

Growth

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Light Shade.

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b. (map)

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Leea manillensis Walpers.

Notes

Publishing author : G.Don Publication : Gen. Hist. 1: 712 1831 [early Aug 1831]

An accepted name in the RHS Horticultural Database.

Place of publication: Gen. hist. 1:712. 1831

Name verified on 22-Aug-2006 by ARS Systematic Botanists. Last updated: 22-Aug-2006

Similar Species

Members of the genus Leea

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 3 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

L. coccinea (Hawaiian Holly) · L. coccinea 'Rubra' (Hawaiian Holly) · L. rubra (Hawaiian Holly)

More Info

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Further Reading

• Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). London: The Museum, 1951-1992. url p. 365.
• Catalogue of the African plants London, Printed by order of the Trustees, 1896-1901. url , , .
• Catalogue of the African plants collected by Dr. Friedrich Welwitsch in 1853-61. .. London, Printed by order of the Trustees, 1896-1901. url p. 153, p. 153, p. 164, p. 164.
• Flora Malesiana. general editor, C.G.G.J. van Steenis. Djakarta: Noordhoff-Kolff, 1950- url p. 756, p. 760, p. 777, p. 778, p. 781, p. 782.
• Liberia / by Sir Harry Johnson; with an appendix on the flora of Liberia by Dr. Otto Stapf. London: Hutchinson, 1906. url p. 590, p. 590.
• Liberia, by Sir Harry Johnston. With an appendix on the flora of Liberia, by Dr. Otto Stapf; 28 coloured illustrations by Sir Harry Johnston, 24 botanical drawings by Miss Matilda Smith, 402 black and white il London, Hutchinson, 1906. url p. 590.
• Memoirs of the California Academy of Sciences. San Francisco: The Academy, 1868- url p. 61.
• Oliver, D. Flora of tropical Africa /by Daniel Oliver. .. assisted by other botanists. 1 1868 London: L. Reeve and co., 1868-1999. url p. 472.
• Sketch of the forestry of West Africa with particular reference to its present principal commercial products. London, S. Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, 1887. url .
• Wissenschaftliche ergebnisse der Deutschen Zentral-Africa-Expedition, 1907-1908: unter Führung Adolf Friedrichs, herzogs zu Mecklenburg. Leipzig: Klinkhardt & Biermann, 1910- url p. 494, p. 706.
• Li Chaoluan. 1998. Vitaceae (excluding Leea). In: Li Chaoluan, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 48(2): ii-vii, 1-3, 12-208.
• Li Chaoluan. 1998. Leea. In: Li Chaoluan, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 48(2): 3-12.

Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 15, 2012.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal December 01, 2007:

• Herbarium of the University of Aarhus, The AAU Herbarium Database
• Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri Botanical Garden
• Taiwan Biodiversity Information Facility, Magnoliophyta

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 3477736
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 14368475
• GRIN Nomen Number: 315504
• International Plant Names Index (IPNI) ID: 68307-1
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 707253

Footnotes

1. Prof. Zhiduan Chen, Hui Ren & Jun Wen "Vitaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 12 Page 33, 115, 173. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
2. "Leea". in Flora of China Vol. 12 Page 169, 173. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
3. "Leea guineensis". in Flora of China Vol. 12 Page 169, 170. Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.