''Grielum'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of four accepted species of plants in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Neuradaceae. They are low-growing annual herbs endemic to dry regions, mainly in Western

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

Description

The genus comprises annual dwarf herbs with pronounced

taproot A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproot ...

s. * The leaves are more or less furry, and may be canescent or tomentose. They are

lobed The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...

at least, but more typically are decompound. The stipules are

obsolete Obsolescence is the process of becoming antiquated, out of date, old-fashioned, no longer in general use, or no longer useful, or the condition of being in such a state. When used in a biological sense, it means imperfect or rudimentary when comp ...

, being barely evident if present at all. * The flowers are conspicuous and are borne on singly on pedicels in leaf axils. They are generally vivid lemon-yellow in colour, but with a white centre in some species. The calyx has five sepals, forming a shallow cup. The corolla has five petals, usually imbricate and thereby forming a shallow bowl, though this is less evident if the petals happen to be narrow, as sometimes occurs on a particular plant. The petals are inserted into the throat of the calyx cup. There are ten stamens, more or less set in two whorls of five, inserted between the base of the gynoecium and the petals. The carpels typically are five in number, but may vary from about 3 to 10. They are connate and remain so in the fruit, which forms a synaptospermic

diaspore Diaspore ()also called diasporite, empholite, kayserite, or tanatariteis an aluminium hydroxide oxide mineral, α-AlO(OH), crystallizing in the orthorhombic system and isomorphous with goethite. It occurs sometimes as flattened crystals, but ...

that may act as a trample burr, being spread by sticking to animals' feet. The

style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

s are

terete Terete is a term in botany used to describe a cross section (geometry), cross section that is circular, or like a distorted circle, with a single surface wrapping around it.Lichen Vocabulary, Lichens of North America Information, Sylvia and S ...

and the stigmas capitate. * The taproot of local species is well developed as a storage organ and is an important source of food and moisture for some animals such as

duiker A duiker is a small to medium-sized brown antelope native to sub-Saharan Africa, found in heavily wooded areas. The 22 extant species, including three sometimes considered to be subspecies of the other species, form the subfamily Cephalophinae ...

, so much so that one of its common names is "''duikerwortel''",

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

for "duiker root"; duikers are notorious for digging up the root from sandy soils. It also was an important food plant for local hunter-gatherers. It is thick and so mucilaginous that it also is known by variations on the name "Pietsnot", meaning "snotty Pete". The taproot of for example ''Grielum humifusum'' and ''Grielum grandiflorum'' are relished even by some campers when roasted on a campfire.Roasted roots
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Species

Four species are recognised: * '' Grielum cuneifolium'' Schinz * '' Grielum grandiflorum'' (L.) Druce * '' Grielum humifusum'' Thunb. * '' Grielum sinuatum'' Licht. ex Burch.

References

Neuradaceae Malvales genera {{Malvales-stub