''Trochetia parviflora'' is a very rare shrub from the genus ''

Trochetia ''Trochetia'' is a genus of flowering plants from the family Malvaceae (formerly in the Sterculiaceae, but this family is now usually subsumed in the Malvaceae). They are endemic to the Mascarene Islands. The genus was first described by A.P. d ...

'' endemic to

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

. Traditionally included in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Sterculiaceae Sterculiaceae was a family of flowering plant based on the genus ''Sterculia''. Genera formerly included in Sterculiaceae are now placed in the family Malvaceae, in the subfamilies: Byttnerioideae, Dombeyoideae, Helicteroideae and Sterculioideae. A ...

, it is included in the expanded

Malvaceae Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar ...

in the APG and most subsequent systematics.

Description

''Trochetia parviflora'' is a much-branched low shrub which can reach a height up to four metres. The bark has a lepidote brown pubescence which is much thinner than in ''

Trochetia uniflora ''Trochetia'' is a genus of flowering plants from the family Malvaceae (formerly in the Sterculiaceae, but this family is now usually subsumed in the Malvaceae). They are endemic to the Mascarene Islands. The genus was first described by A.P. d ...

'' and ''

Trochetia triflora ''Trochetia'' is a genus of flowering plants from the family Malvaceae (formerly in the Sterculiaceae, but this family is now usually subsumed in the Malvaceae). They are endemic to the Mascarene Islands. The genus was first described by A.P. d ...

''. On the branches fruits are placed in a group of three. The oblong and entire leaves have a length between 2.5 and 3.8 centimetres. The leaf base is rather rounded. The upperside of the leaf is obtused and scabrous, the underside is thinly scurfy.

Status

In the past ''Trochetia parviflora'' was known from the forest at Montagne-Ory. After botanist

Philip Burnard Ayres Philip Burnard Ayres (1813–1863) was a British physician, botanist and plant collecting, collector. He was born at Thame in Oxfordshire on 12 December 1813. He initially began to collect plants in his native United Kingdom and also in Franc ...

collected the last known specimens in 1863 it was long regarded as lost until 76 individuals were rediscovered in April 2001 by the Mauritian botanists Vincent Florens and Jean-Claude Sevathian, from the Mauritius Herbarium, on a rocky slope of the

Corps de Garde Corps de Garde (translation: ''Guard Corpse'') is a 720-metre-high mountain of volcanic origin, in the area Palma in the Black River district of Mauritius. The name derived from the fact that a French military post was once established on its slope ...

six kilometres apart from the type locality. It was assumed that this species has reduced its original range due to competition with invasive alien plants and seed predation by invasive monkeys and rats. Today the biggest threats are wildfire and landslides.

References

*J.G. Baker: ''Flora of Mauritius and the Seychelles: A Description of the Flowering Plants''. Asian Educational Services, 1999.

External links

Mauritius Post Ltd. First Day Cover.
(engl.)
Herbarium specimen Royal Botanic Garden Kew
parviflora Endemic flora of Mauritius Taxa named by John Gilbert Baker Taxa named by Wenceslas Bojer {{Malvaceae-stub