''Alluaudia comosa'' is a rare species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

. It belongs to the family

Didiereaceae Didiereaceae is a family of flowering plants found in continental Africa and Madagascar. It contains 20 species classified in three subfamilies and six genera. Species of the family are succulent plants, growing in sub-arid to arid habitats. Seve ...

, subfamily Didiereoideae, which is found only in the coastal area of SW Madagascar.Rauh, W. 1983. The morphology and systematic position of the Didiereaceae of Madagascar. Bothalia 14(3/4): 839–843. ''Didierea comosa'' Drake is a synonym.Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 06 Jul 2019 It is listed as "vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Description

''Alluaudia comosa'' has a distinctive, easily recognized silhouette with a short trunk and dense branches that stop in a flat crown.Encyclopedia/SUCCULENTS/Family/Didiereaceae/35431/Alluaudia_comosa> This is a

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

shrub to small tree 2-6 (-10) metres tall that is woody, semi-succulent and spiny, with spines set singly. Spines are grey and 1.5-3.5 cm long. Leaves are developed mostly in pairs, set on a short stalk ( petiole), dying off at the beginning of the dry season. They are rounded (10–22 mm X 10 mm) and fleshy.

Flowers

Flowers are produced on a reduced inflorescence in ''Alluaudia comosa''; only the end flower develops, and is set on a very short axis. Flowers are dioecious (male and female flowers on separate plants).

Habitat

This species grows on

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

in dry forests or coastal shrubland.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2649482 Didiereaceae Endemic flora of Madagascar Flora of the Madagascar spiny thickets