Loranthaceae
Vanwykia

Vanwykia rubella Polhill & Wiens

First published in Mistletoes Africa: 222 (1998)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is W. & Central Tanzania to N. Zambia. It is a hemiparasitic epiphyte and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

Flora Zambesiaca. Vol. 9, Part 3. Polygonaceae-Myriaceae. Pope GV, Polhill RM, Martins ES. 2006.

Type
Type from Tanzania.
Morphology Stem
Stems forming clumps to 1 m or so; twigs tomentellous, longer hairs reddish and up to 1 mm long
Morphology Leaves
Leaves mostly opposite to subopposite; petiole 5–15 mm long; lamina coriaceous, 6–11 × 1–3.5 cm, linear-lanceolate to narrowly oblong-elliptic, bluntly pointed, cuneate at base, reddish tomentellous, soon glabrescent Leaves mostly opposite to subopposite; petiole 5–15 mm long; lamina coriaceous, 6–11 × 1–3.5 cm, linear-lanceolate to narrowly oblong-elliptic, bluntly pointed, cuneate at base, reddish tomentellous, soon glabrescent.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Umbels in axils and at older nodes, 2–5-flowered, tomentellous; peduncle 0–2 mm long; pedicels 0–2(3 in fruit) mm long; bract 2–4 mm long Umbels in axils and at older nodes, 2–5-flowered, tomentellous; peduncle 0–2 mm long; pedicels 0–2(3 in fruit) mm long; bract 2–4 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Receptacle
Receptacle 3–3.5 mm long, tomentellous; calyx scarcely differentiated Receptacle 3–3.5 mm long, tomentellous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla 5-merous, 4–4.5 cm long, cream turning salmon-pink and with reddish-brown to purplish-red hairs outside, green turning red and sometimes hairy inside; lobes 6–8 mm long, oblanceolate-spathulate Corolla 5-merous, 4–4.5 cm long, cream turning salmon-pink and with reddish-brown to purplish-red hairs outside, green turning red and sometimes hairy inside; lobes 6–8 mm long, oblanceolate-spathulate.
Ecology
Miombo woodland west of the Rift; on Brachystegia and other legumes; flowering in the dry season, April–October.
Distribution
Also in central and western Tanzania. ZAM N Zambia
Morphology General Habit
Stems forming clumps to 1 m or so; twigs tomentellous, longer hairs reddish and up to 1 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx scarcely differentiated.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens Anthers
Anthers 3 mm long. Anthers 3 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Berry 13–15 × 5–6 mm, becoming ellipsoid, tomentellous. Berry 13–15 × 5–6 mm, becoming ellipsoid, tomentellous.
[FZ]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Loranthaceae, Polhill & D. Wiens. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1999

Morphology General Habit
Stems forming clumps to 1 m. or so; twigs tomentellous, longer hairs reddish and up to 1 mm. long.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves mostly opposite to subopposite; petiole 5–15 mm. long; lamina coriaceous, linear-lanceolate to narrowly oblong-elliptic, 6–11 cm. long, 1–3.5 cm. wide, bluntly pointed at the apex, cuneate at the base, reddish tomentellous, soon glabrescent.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Umbels in axils and at older nodes, 2–5-flowered, tomentellous; peduncle 0–2 mm. long; pedicels 0–2(–3 in fruit) mm. long; bract 2–4 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Receptacle
Receptacle 3–3.5 mm. long, tomentellous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx scarcely differentiated.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla 5-merous, 4–4.5 cm. long, cream turning salmon-pink and with reddish-brown to purplish-red hairs up to 2 mm. long outside, green turning red and sometimes hairy inside; lobes oblanceolate-spathulate, 6–8 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens Anthers
Anthers 3 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Berry becoming ellipsoid, 13–15 mm. long, 5–6 mm. in diameter, tomentellous.
Habitat
Deciduous woodland, on Brachystegia and other legumes; 1000–1800 m.
Distribution
T4 T5 T7
[FTEA]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0