Phyllanthaceae
Bridelia micrantha
- Terminal shoot with stipules.
- Flushing young leaves.
- Immature fruit.
- Midrib and venation, lower surface.
- Immature fruit.
- Tree.
- Leafy branch.
General Information
There are several species of Bridelia which occur in the area. More than one species is common as a small tree around fields and villages. Other species are more common in savanna or seasonally flooded places. Most species have spines on the trunk or the branches. This species can be distinguished by its rather persistent and obvious stipules, and by the secondary veins which reach the edge of the leaf. The character of secondary veins reaching or not reaching the leaf margin is an important one when separating the species of Bridelia. When fresh the leaves have a whitish bloom on the lower surface; however, they do not turn black when dried like one of the other species, Bridelia atroviridis.
Ecology
Villages, fields and disturbed forest, occasionally seasonally flooded forest.
Distribution
Distribution: Senegal to Ethiopia and South Africa.