Edithcolea
Edithcolea | |
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Edithcolea grandis flower | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Gentianales |
Family: | Apocynaceae |
Subfamily: | Asclepiadoideae |
Tribe: | Ceropegieae
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Genus: | Edithcolea N.E.Br. 1895
|
Species: | E. grandis
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Binomial name | |
Edithcolea grandis N.E.Br. 1895 | |
Synonyms[1] | |
Edithcolea sordida |
Edithcolea is a
The genus is named after Edith Cole (1859–1940). She collected the type material for this plant with Lort Philips in 1895, during a botanical expedition (1894–1895) led by Ethelbert Edward Lort Phillips (1857-1944) from Berbera to the Golis mountains in Somaliland.[2]
Description
Edithcolea grandis is a
The
The fruit (follicles) contain a large number of seeds. The oval shaped seeds bear a tuft of hairs (coma) so they can be dispersed with the wind. The smaller variant baylissiana (Lavros & Hardy) has more branched stems that are smaller in diameter (1 to 1.5 cm), shorter (10 cm) and are often spirally twisted.
Distribution
Edithcolea grandis is distributed throughout the
Usage and growth
The stem of Edithcolea grandis is eaten as a vegetable in Ethiopia and Somalia. (Ref prota, ref Getahuna 1974)
Edithcolea grandis is occasionally cultivated as an ornamental in desert gardens worldwide. It has a gained a reputation as a particularly difficult plant to keep because of its very specific growing needs with much light and relatively high (above 15 °C) winter temperatures. It's very susceptible to rot in combination with low temperatures.
Literature
- D.V. Field. Edithcolea grandis. Asklepios 20: 18–21, 1980.
- J.J. Lavranos & D.S. Hardy. Edithcolea grandis var. baylissiana Lavranos & Hardy. Asklepios 20: 21–23, 1980.
- Focke Albers und Ulrich Meve (Hrsg.): Illustrated handbook of succulent plants, Volume 3. Springer-Verlag 2002, 335 pages, ISBN 3-540-41964-0.
- Sigrid Liede-Schumann und Ulrich Meve: The Genera of Asclepiadoideae, Secamonoideae and Periplocoideae (Apocynaceae): Edithcolea - Online. (in Englisch)
- PROTA 2: Vegetables / Légumes 2004, page 292. Backhuys Publishers. ISBN 978-90-5782-147-9
- J.J. Lavranos, D.S. Hardy, 1963.
- Flora of tropical Africa, Volume 4, Section 1, Daniel Oliver, L. Reeve, 1937, reprint 1958
- Diagnoses Africanæ, VII. Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information (Royal Gardens, Kew), Vol. 1895, No. 105 (1895), pp. 211–230, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4114977?seq=10
- Amare Getahuna. The role of wild plants in the native diet in Ethiopia. Agro-Ecosystems. Volume 1, 1974, Pages 45–56.
References
- ^ a b The Plant List
- ^ (ref Flor._Africa)