''Muraltia'' is a genus of plants in the milkwort family (
Polygalaceae
The Polygalaceae or the milkwort family are made up of flowering plants in the order Fabales. They have a near-cosmopolitan range, with about 27 genera and ''ca''. 900 known species of herbs, shrubs and trees. Over half of the species are in one ...
) which is native to Southern and Eastern Africa.
Most of the species are
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
to South Africa, and one species is
naturalized in Australia.
It is named after
Johannes von Muralt, a Swiss botanist and surgeon.
In 2006 the genus ''Nylandtia'', which contained two species, was merged into ''Muraltia''.
The two species formerly part of ''Nylandtia'' are ''
Muraltia scoparia'' and ''
Muraltia spinosa''. ''Nylandtia'' are commonly known as "Tortoise berry" plants ("skilpadbessie"). This is because of the bright edible berries that they produce, which are relished by the
tortoise
Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like oth ...
species of the
fynbos.
Description
Muraltia are
perennial
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...
,
ericoid shrublets or shrubs. Their small flowers and
sessile
Sessility, or sessile, may refer to:
* Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about
* Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant
* Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...
or have short stalks.
usually have 3 petals and 5
sepal
A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coine ...
s which are usually