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Malcolmia africana

(African Adder's-Mouth)

Common Names

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Common Names in English:

African Adder's-Mouth, African Addersmouth, African Malcomia, African Mustard

Description

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Family Brassicaceae

Herbs annual , biennial, or perennial , sometimes subshrubs or shrubs , with a pungent , watery juice. Eglandular trichomes unicellular, simple , stalked or sessile, 2- to many forked , stellate , dendritic , or malpighiaceous (medifixed , bifid, appressed ), rarely peltate and scalelike; glandular trichomes multicellular, with uniseriate or multiseriate stalk . Stems erect , ascending , or prostrate , sometimes absent. Leaves exstipulate , simple, entire or variously pinnately dissected , rarely trifoliolate or pinnately, palmately, or bipinnately compound ; basal leaf rosette present or absent; cauline leaves almost always alternate, rarely opposite or whorled , petiolate or sessile, sometimes absent. Inflorescence bracteate or ebracteate racemes , corymbs, or panicles, sometimes flowers solitary on long pedicels originating from axils of rosette leaves . Flowers hypogynous, mostly actinomorphic . Sepals 4, in 2 decussate pairs, free or rarely united , not saccate or lateral (inner) pair saccate. Petals 4, alternate with sepals, arranged in the form of a cross (cruciform ; hence the earlier family name Cruciferae), rarely rudimentary or absent. Stamens 6, in 2 whorls, tetradynamous (lateral (outer) pair shorter than median (inner) 2 pairs), rarely equal or in 3 pairs of unequal length , sometimes stamens 2 or 4, very rarely 8-24; filaments slender, winged , or appendaged, median pairs free or rarely united; anthers dithecal , dehiscing by longitudinal slits. Pollen grains 3-colpate, trinucleate . Nectar glands receptacular , highly diversified in number, shape , size, and disposition around base of filaments, always present opposite bases of lateral filaments, median glands present or absent. Pistil 2-carpelled; ovary superior, sessile or borne on a distinct gynophore , mostly 2-locular and with a false septum connecting 2 placentae; placentation parietal , rarely apical; ovules anatropous or campylotropous, bitegmic, 1 to many per locule. Fruit typically a 2-valved capsule, generally termed silique (siliqua) when length 3 × or more than width , or silicle (silicula) when length less than 3 × width, dehiscent or indehiscent, sometimes schizocarpic, nutletlike, lomentaceous , or samaroid , segmented or not, terete , angled , or flattened parallel to septum (latiseptate ) or at a right angle to septum (angustiseptate) ; valves 2(or 3-6) ; replum (persistent placenta) rounded , rarely flattened or winged; septum complete, perforated, reduced to a rim , or lacking; style 1, distinct, obsolete , or absent; stigma capitate or conical , entire or 2-lobed, sometimes lobes decurrent and free or connate . Seeds without endosperm, uniseriately or biseriately arranged in each locule, aseriate when 1, winged or wingless, mucilaginous or not when wetted; cotyledons incumbent (embryo notorrhizal: radicle lying along back of 1 cotyledon), accumbent (embryo pleurorrhizal: radicle applied to margins of both cotyledons), or conduplicate (embryo orthoplocal: cotyledons folded longitudinally around radicle), rarely spirally coiled (embryo spirolobal) . Germination epigeal.

About 330 genera and 3500 species: all continents except Antarctica, mainly in temperate areas, with highest diversity in Irano-Turanian, Mediterranean, and W North American regions; 102 genera (eight endemic) and 412 species (115 endemic) in China.

Because of lack of a comprehensive classification based on phylogenetic relationships among genera, and in order to facilitate direct comparison between the accounts in FOC and FRPS, the sequence of genera follows Schulz (Nat. Pflanzenfam. 17b: 227-658. 1936) . However, it should be emphasized that his system is largely artificial because he placed closely related genera in different tribes and remotely related genera in the same tribe. For example, Arabis, Aubrieta, Draba, and Macropodium, which are very closely related on the basis of recent molecular studies, were placed by Schulz in four different tribes, whereas the unrelated Capsella, Lepidium, and Thlaspi were placed in one tribe. The delimitation of genera is often difficult, and mature fruits are needed for reliable identification.

The Brassicaceae include many important crop plants that are grown as vegetables (Brassica, Nasturtium, Raphanus) and sources of vegetable oils (Brassica) and condiments (Armoracia, Brassica, Eutrema, Sinapis) . Oils of Brassica probably rank first in terms of tonnage of the world's production of edible oils. The family includes many ornamentals in the genera Erysimum, Iberis Linnaeus, Lobularia, Malcolmia, and Matthiola. Of these, only Lobularia maritima has become naturalized in China. The family also includes more than 120 species of weeds . Arabidopsis thaliana, which is naturalized in China, has become the model organism in many fields of experimental biology .

The delimitation of genera in the Brassicaceae is often difficult because of the frequent independent evolution of what appear to be similar character states , the variability of a given character in one genus and its fixture in another, and the inadequate sampling of material by most authors . Fruit characters are essential in the identification of genera. However, a key emphasizing flowering material is given in addition to the one emphasizing fruit. The most reliable determination of genera can be achieved when the material has both fruit and flowers and when both keys are successfully used to reach the same genus.

The types of cotyledonary position, which in reality is the position of the radicle in relation to the cotyledons (e.g. , radicle accumbent, incumbent, or conduplicate, though radicle referred to as "cotyledon" throughout) are important in the separation of many genera, and a cross section of the seed provides the easiest and simplest way of determining that position. The exact number of ovules per ovary can easily be determined from the fruit because aborted ovules persist through fruit dehiscence. However, it is more laborious to determine the ovule number from pistils and young fruit.[1]

Genus Malcolmia

Herbs annual , biennial, or perennial with a woody caudex . Trichomes a mixture of simple , forked , or stellate , sometimes malpighiaceous. Stems erect or ascending . Basal leaves not rosulate, simple, entire or variously dentate or pinnatifid . Cauline leaves petiolate or subsessile , not auriculate , entire, dentate, or rarely lobed . Racemes few to many flowered, ebracteate or rarely bracteate . Fruiting pedicels slender or thickened, ascending or divaricate . Sepals ovate or narrowly oblong , erect, glabrous or pubescent , base of lateral pair saccate or not. Petals white, pink, or purple, longer than sepals; blade obovate , spatulate , oblong, or oblanceolate , apex obtuse or rounded ; claw well developed. Stamens 6, erect, tetradynamous ; filaments dilated or not at base, free or median 4 connate in 2 pairs; anthers ovate, oblong, or linear , apex apiculate or not. Median glands absent; lateral glands 1 on each side of lateral stamen, or lunar . Ovules 20-90 per ovary. Fruit dehiscent siliques, linear, terete , 4-angled, or latiseptate , subsessile; valves glabrous or pubescent, smooth or torulose ; replum rounded; septum complete ; style obsolete or to 1 mm or longer; stigma conical , 2-lobed, lobes connivent, often connate, opposite replum. Seeds uniseriate , wingless, oblong or ovate, plump or slightly flattened; seed coat reticulate , not mucilaginous when wetted; cotyledons incumbent or rarely accumbent .

About 35 species: C and SW Asia, Mediterranean region; four species in China.[2]

Physical Description

Species Malcolmia africana

Herbs annual , (4.5-) 15-30(-45) cm tall, sparsely to densely pubescent with short-stalked, forked or subdendritic trichomes sometimes mixed with simple subsetose ones, rarely glabrescent . Basal leaves soon withered, not rosulate. Middle and lower cauline leaves petiolate ; petiole (0.1-) 0.6-2(-3) cm; leaf blade elliptic , oblong , or oblanceolate , (0.5-) 1.5-6(-10) × (0.3-) 1-2.5(-3.5) cm, base cuneate, margin entire or dentate , rarely sinuate , apex acute; uppermost leaves smaller and subsessile . Racemes few to many flowered, elongated considerably in fruit; rachis straight or slightly flexuous . Fruiting pedicels thickened, as wide as fruit, 0.5-2(-4) mm. Sepals (3.5-) 4-5 × 0.5-0.7 mm, caducous or persistent . Petals pink or purple, rarely white, narrowly oblanceolate, (6.5-) 8-10(-12) × 1-2 mm. Filaments free , 2.5-5 mm; anthers narrowly oblong, 0.9-1.1 mm. Fruit linear, straight, quadrangular , not torulose , (2.5-) 3.5-5.5(-7) cm × 1-1.3 mm; valves not veined, pubescent with coarse , forked trichomes mixed with much smaller, forked and subdendritic ones or subsetose simple ones, rarely glabrous ; style obsolete ; stigma conical , to 1 mm. Seeds oblong, 1-1.2 × 0.5-0.6 mm. Fl. Apr-Aug, fr. May-Oct. [source]

A very highly variable species in pubescence , flower size, and fruit length . Forms with subsetose and branched trichomes on the fruit (var. trichocarpa) have been recognized as variety of Malcolmia africana or as a distinct species, while those with shorter petals have been recognized as var. stenopetala. However, these forms are sporadic throughout most of the range of the species and are often found in the same population with typical plants of M. africana. [source]

Habit: Forb/herb

Habitat

Fields , disturbed areas, roadsides, deserts; 700-3300 m [3].

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 5,271 meters (0 to 17,293 feet).[4]

Biology

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Reproduction

Duration: Annual

Taxonomy

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Unambiguous Synonyms

  1. Cheiranthus taraxacifolius Balbis (1814), Not Stephan (1800)
  2. F. stenopetala (Bernhardi Ex Fischer & C. A. Meyer) Dvorák
  3. F. taraxacifolia Dvorák
  4. Fedtschenkoa africana (Linnaeus) Dvorák
  5. Hesperis africana Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 663. 1753
  6. Hesperis laxa Lamarck
  7. M. africana var. korshinskyi Vassilczenko
  8. M. africana var. stenopetala Bernhardi Ex Fischer & C. A. Meyer
  9. M. africana var. trichocarpa (Boissier & Buhse) Boissier
  10. M. calycina Sennen
  11. M. divaricata (Fischer) Fischer
  12. M. laxa (Lamarck) De Candolle
  13. M. stenopetala (Bernhardi Ex Fischer & C. A. Meyer) Bernhardi Ex Ledebour
  14. M. taraxacifolia de Candolle
  15. M. trichocarpa Boissier & Buhse
  16. Malcolmia africana var. divaricata Fischer
  17. S. africana var. laxa (Lamarck) Botschantzev
  18. S. stenopetala (Bernhardi Ex Fischer & C. A. Meyer) Botschantzev
  19. S. trichocarpa (Boissier & Buhse) Botschantzev
  20. Strigosella africana (Linnaeus) Botschantzev
  21. W. africana var. stenopetala (Bernhardi Ex Fischer & C. A. Meyer) Grossheim
  22. W. africana var. trichocarpa (Boissier & Buhse) Grossheim
  23. W. stenopetala (Bernhardi Ex Fischer & C. A. Meyer) N. Busch.
  24. Wilckia africana (Linnaeus) F. Mueller

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000.

Place of publication : W. T. Aiton, Hortus kew. ed. 2; 4:121. 1812 "Malcomia"

Name verified on 01-Aug-1988 by ARS Systematic Botanists. Last updated: 25-Feb-2002

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Malcolmia

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 72 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

M. aculeolata · M. aegyptiaca · M. aegyptica · M. africana (African Adder's-Mouth) · M. alyssoides · M. angulifolia · M. arabica · M. arenaria · M. bassarana · M. behboudiana · M. bicolor · M. biloba · M. binervis · M. boissieriana · M. brevipes · M. broussonetii · M. bucharica · M. bungei · M. cabulica · M. calycina · M. chia · M. confusa · M. contortuplicata · M. crenulata · M. exacoides · M. flexuosa · M. flexuosa subsp. naxensis · M. graeca (Malcolm Stock) · M. graeca subsp. bicolor · M. grandiflora · M. hispida · M. hydraea · M. illyrica · M. incrassata · M. intermedia · M. lacera · M. lacera gracillima · M. laxa · M. littorea · M. longipetala · M. macrocalyx · M. malacotricha · M. maritima (Virginia Stock) · M. maritma · M. mongolica · M. multicaulis · M. multisiliqua · M. musili · M. nana · M. nana var. glabra · M. orsiniana · M. orsiniana subsp. angulifolia · M. pancicii · M. parviflora · M. patula · M. perennans · M. pulchella · M. pygmaea · M. pyramidum · M. ramosissima · M. runcinata · M. scorpioides · M. serbica · M. strigosa · M. taraxacifolia · M. tenuissima · M. toppinii · M. torulosa · M. trichocarpa · M. triloba · M. triloba subsp. patula · M. turkestanica

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 01, 2008:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Tai-yien Cheo, Lianli Lu, Guang Yang, Ihsan Al-Shehbaz & Vladimir Dorofeev "Brassicaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 8 Page 1. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. Tai-yien Cheo, Lianli Lu, Guang Yang, Ihsan Al-Shehbaz & Vladimir Dorofeev "Malcolmia". in Flora of China Vol. 8 Page 154. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  3. "Malcolmia africana". in Flora of China Vol. 8 Page 155. Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  4. Mean = 944.490 meters (3,098.720 feet), Standard Deviation = 915.040 based on 321 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 7/1/2009