| Home | > | List of families | > | Amaranthaceae | > | Achyropsis | > | leptostachya |
| Synonyms: |
Achyranthes leptostachya E. Mey. ex Meisn. Achyropsis alba Eckl. & Zeyh. ex Moq. Psilotrichum densiflorum Lopr. |
| Common names: | |
| Frequency: | |
| Status: | Native |
| Description: |
Shrubby perennial herb up to 60 cm tall, growing from a tough rootstock; stem and branches 4-angled above with pale raised angles. Leaves linear to narrowly elliptic, 10–55 mm long, densely appressed whitish hairy beneath, more thinly so above, tapering at the base, only larger leaves with a petiole up to c. 5 mm long; upper and branch leaves much smaller in size; short sterile shoots or fascicles of leaves frequently present between the larger leaves. Inflorescence bluntly conical when young, soon cylindrical, c. 1–4.5 cm long, axis densely white-lanate; bracts ovate-acuminate, 1–1.25 mm long, hairless, whitish to straw-coloured, persistent. Perianth c. 2 mm long, with tepals very concave, hairless, broadly white-margined. Capsule shortly and broadly ellipsoid, c. 1.25 mm long. |
| Notes: | |
| Derivation of specific name: | leptostachya: with a slender spike |
| Habitat: | Usually in sandy grassy places or along watercourses, in light shade of scattered small trees or bushes. |
| Flowering time: | |
| Worldwide distribution: | Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa. |
| Botswana distribution: | SE |
| Growth form(s): | |
| Endemic status: | |
| Red data list status: | |
| Insects associated with this species: | |
| Spot characters: | Display spot characters for this species |
| Literature: |
Da Silva, M.C., Izidine, S. & Amude, A.B. (2004). A preliminary checklist of the vascular plants of Mozambique. Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 30 Sabonet, Pretoria Page 20. Mapaura, A. & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 16. Phiri, P.S.M. (2005). A Checklist of Zambian Vascular Plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 32 Page 20. Setshogo, M.P. (2005). Preliminary checklist of the plants of Botswana. Sabonet Report no. 37. Sabonet, Pretoria and Gaborone Page 20. Townsend, C.C. (1988). Amaranthaceae Flora Zambesiaca 9(1) Pages 112 - 114. (Includes a picture). |
| Home | > | List of families | > | Amaranthaceae | > | Achyropsis | > | leptostachya |