Ochna macrocalyx is a species that grows as a subshrub, shrub or small tree with yellow flowers arranged in axillary racemes and belonging to the family Ochnaceae.
| Ochna macrocalyx | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malpighiales |
| Family: | Ochnaceae |
| Genus: | Ochna |
| Species: | O. macrocalyx
|
| Binomial name | |
| Ochna macrocalyx Oliv.
| |
It a medicinal tree in Tanzania as extracts are used to treat gastrointestinal and gynaecological ailments, it is locallty known as Nkatakwa by the Wasambaa people.[1]
Description
editOchna macrocalyx grows as a subshrub or shrub reaching an height of 3 m and has been observed sometimes to only show flowers and leaves above the ground. It has greyish to brown bark with a yellow slash.[2] Its leaves have a lethery texture while leaflets are oblong to lanceolate to elliptical in shape, they can reach 25 cm long and 7 cm wide and with a toothed margin. Flowers are yellow up to 14 in axillary racemes.[2]
Distribution
editOccurs in Tropical East and Southern Africa and well distributed in the Usambara mountains in Tanzania.[1] It is found in open woodlands, grasslands and rocky slopes.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b Tang, Sharon (2003). Phytochemical and biochemical investigations of Ochna macrocalyx and Bupleurum fruticosum - Searching for NF-κB inhibitory compounds (Ph.D thesis). UCL (University College London).
- ^ a b Flora of Tropical East Africa: Ochnaceae. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- ^ Shah, Toral; Mashimba, Fandey H; Suleiman, Haji O; Mbailwa, Yahya S; Schneider, Julio V; Zizka, Georg; Savolainen, Vincent; Larridon, Isabel; Darbyshire, Iain (2022-03-22). "Phylogenetics of Ochna (Ochnaceae) and a new infrageneric classification". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 198 (4): 361–381. doi:10.1093/botlinnean/boab071. ISSN 0024-4074.
 | This Malpighiales article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |