Ludwigia abyssinica A. Rich.

Global description

Ludwigia abyssinica is an erect, bushy plant that grows up to 2 m. It is an entirely hairless plant with a color ranging from green to red. The angular stem is very branched. The leaves are simple and alternate, lanceolate, fairly wide. They have a decurrent base along the stem. The flowers are axillary, solitary or in small groups. They consist of a long, inferior ovary surmounted by 4 (5) persistent sepals and 4 (5) yellow deciduous petals. The fruit is a linear capsule that contains many tiny seeds arranged in a single row.

General habit

Annual to perennial (pluri-annual) plant, erect, very branched, woody at the base, forming a small bush with an elliptical profile, measuring 1 to 2 m in height. The color of this species varies from green to red.

Underground system

The root is a taproot.

Stem

The stem is glabrous, smooth and hollow. It presents a polygonal section, generally with 5 faces, with rather marked angles because of the decurrent base of the petioles. The branches, reddish, are angular, especially when they are young, fleshy and hollow.

Leaf

The leaves are simple and alternate. They present at their base triangular stipules tiny and not very visible. The petiole which is often poorly differentiated can measure up to 3 cm long, decurrently based along the stem. The blade is lanceolate, with a narrowed base (decurrent along the petiole) and at the end with a sharp mucronate corner at the apex. It is 3 to 12 cm long and 1 to 4 cm wide. The margin is entire. It has a slight thickening of purplish color with a very short pubescence. The limb is traversed by numerous lateral veins ascending, parallel and curved. The blade is entirely hairless on both sides except for a few short hairs on the veins of the leaves. It is light green on the upper face, a little glaucous on the underside.

Inflorescence

The flowers grouped into small cymes or solitary, are located in the axil of the leaves.

Flower

The very short peduncle flower (1-3 mm) is composed of 4 (5) sepals and 4 (5) petals, located atop a linear ovary. The acute triangular sepals are 1.75 to 3 mm long. They are persistent. The oval-elliptical petals are 1.5 to 3.5 mm long. They are a beautiful pale yellow. The stamens are 4 (5). The style ends with a hemispheric stigma.

Fruit

The fruit is a capsule with 4 boxes. It is linear arched erect, ribbed, with bumpy faces. It is 1 to 2 cm long and 1 to 3 mm in diameter. It contains many small seeds arranged in a single row per box.

Seed

The ellipsoid to ovoid seed has a narrow longitudinal bead that extends from the base to the apiculated apex. It is 0.5 to 0.8 mm long. It is tawny with red-brown longitudinal lines.

https://www.gbif.org/species/5544776