Seemannaralia

<i>Seemannaralia</i>

Seemannaralia

Genus of flowering plants

Seemannaralia gerrardii, commonly known as the wild-maple or mock carrot tree, is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae. It is the sole member of genus Seemannaralia, and is endemic to South Africa, where it occurs in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces.[2] It was originally included in genus Cussonia. Seemann- and gerrardii commemorate Berthold Seemann and William Gerrard respectively, while -aralia suggests the family or its type genus, Aralia.[3]

Quick Facts Wild-maple, Scientific classification ...

Description

A short squat tree of open rocky situations, or a tall tree of forest and forest edge.[3] The rough grey bark is deeply cracked. As with genus Cussonia the leaves are clustered at the ends of branches. The leaf shape is characteristic: maple-like, palmate and 3 to 7 lobed.[3] Leaves turn yellow in autumn.

Flowers and fruit

The small, yellowish green flowers are produced in autumn,[3] in axillary and terminal panicles of umbels.[4] The oval flower petals have an intricate estivation.[5] The superior ovary is 1[6] or 2-locular,[4] and much compressed laterally.[5] The purplish drupes appear in winter. They are of a flattened, elliptic shape, with lateral veins.[3]

  • Panicle of flower umbels
  • Close-up of two flower umbels

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Seemannaralia.
  1. [1]
    "Seemannaralia gerrardii (Seem.) R.Vig". The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. theplantlist.org. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  2. [2]
    Foden, W.; Potter, L. (2005). "Seemannaralia gerrardii (Seem.) Harms". Red List of South African Plants version 2017.1. SANBI. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  3. [3]
    Schmidt, Ernst; Lötter, Mervyn; McCleland, Warren (2002). Trees and shrubs of Mpumalanga and Kruger National Park. Johannesburg: Jacana Media. p. 488. ISBN 9781919777306.
  4. [4]
    "Araliaceae - Seemannaralia R.Vig". Keys to Flora of Southern Africa. SANBI. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  5. [5]
    Hooker, Joseph Dalton (1884). Cussonia gerrardi, Seem. Hooker's Icones Plantarum. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  6. [6]
    Takhtajan, Armen (2009). Flowering plants (2nd ed.). Dordrecht: Springer. p. 474. ISBN 9781402096099.


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