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''Cladostemon kirkii'' (''klados'' - a branch, ''stemon'' - a stamen), commonly known as the three-finger bush, is a small deciduous tree belonging to the Capparaceae or caper family. It is a genus that has only this one species ( monotypic). It is distributed through Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe,
here
Eswatini
Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...
and KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...
in Southern Africa.
The species is named after Sir John Kirk (1832-1922), David Livingstone's companion on his Zambezi expedition of 1858 and the first European collector of the plant near Tete in Mozambique.
Description
''Cladostemon kirki'' has leaves that are trifoliolate with obovate leaflets that are glabrous with a thin texture and a common petiole up to 200 mm long. Twigs and branches are flexible and herbaceous. The fragrant inflorescences are terminal or axillary, greenish at first, then white with pink venation, and finally turn yellow with age. The individual flowers are asymmetric, the two upper petals being much larger than the lower. The 15 cm long stamens are fused for most of their length, forming anandrophore
The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...
.
The large pendulous fruits are gourd-shaped, have a leathery texture and are up to 12 cm in diameter, hang from long, thick, sharply bent, jointed stalks, and give off an odour repulsive to humans on being picked.
Distribution
This tree is found in bushveld and sand forest, in open woodland and scrub, preferring sandy soils in hot areas. The animals pollinating this species' flowers are as yet unknown, while the large size of the fruit suggests eating and dispersal by a large animal such as elephant, rhino or buffalo. ''Flora of Malawi'', illustrates the species well and images may be seehere
See also
*Southern African Sand Forest
Southern African Sand Forest is a sand forest, or a subtropical forest plant community of the tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests biome. It grows on ancient sand dunes in northern KwaZulu-Natal and southern Mozambique. In South A ...
* List of Southern African indigenous trees and woody lianes
References
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q16726075, from2=Q5124970 Capparaceae Monotypic Brassicales genera Flora of Kenya Flora of Tanzania Flora of Malawi Flora of Mozambique Flora of Zambia Flora of Zimbabwe Flora of South Africa