Dolichopentas decora
(S. Moore) Karehed & B. Bremer
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(c) andreaudzungwa, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
iNaturalist· cc-by
(c) Tony KM, some rights reserved (CC BY)
Description
A herb. It is erect and grows 60 cm high. The stems are usually single and somewhat woody. The leaves are in rings or 3-5. The leaf blades are 4-13 cm long by 1-6 cm wide. They are oval. The flowers are in clusters of 3 with 2 at the side and one at the end. The clusters consists of about 30 flowers. The flowers are white and have a sweet scent. The fruit are about 1.5 cm long by 1 cm wide. They have ribs and are hairy. The seeds are brown and oval. They are about 1 mm long.
Edible Uses
The fruit and leaves are edible.
Distribution
It is a tropical plant. It grows in upland grassland in West Africa.
Where It Grows
Africa, Cameroon, Central Africa, Congo, East Africa, Guinea, Guinée, Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania, West Africa, Zambia,
Notes
There are about 50 Pentas species.
Synonyms
References (5)
- Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 4. Kew. (As Pentas decora)
- Fowler, D. G., 2007, Zambian Plants: Their Vernacular Names and Uses. Kew. p 84 (As Pentas decora)
- Kakeya, 1976, (As Pentas decora)
- Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 173 (As Pentas decora)
- World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
