Gnetum africanum Welw.

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Photo: Bart Wursten
Lomami River, downstream from Lieki, opposite bank

Photo: Bart Wursten
Liambe, small tributary of the Aruwimi River

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Synonyms:	Thoa africana (Welw.) Doweld
Common names:
Frequency:
Status:	Native
Description:	Branching vine, 2-5 m high, with slender branches, swollen at the nodes and glabrous. Leaves opposite or 3-whorled, short-stalked and with a petiole 3-6 mm long; blade oval, elliptical or sometimes oblong-lanceolate, attenuated at the base, abruptly and long acuminate at the top, 5-14 cm long and 2-5 cm wide, with 3-6 lateral veins, glabrous and papery, pale green. Ears ♂ terminal or lateral, solitary or 2 together, simple, slender, 4-8 cm long including the peduncle, with whorls of sporophylls 3-4 mm apart; sporophylls ± 1 mm long, with a long staminal column exserted at flowering. Terminal ♀ ears, simple or sometimes branched at the base, more robust than ♂ ears, 4-6 cm long including the peduncle; sporophylls ± 1 mm long, with slightly dilated cup. Ripe seeds are ellipsoid to obovoid and subapiculate, 10-15 mm long, red when ripe.
Notes:	A very unusual Gymnosperm in both its liane-like, climbing habit as well as in possessing actual petiolate leaves.
Derivation of specific name:
Habitat:	In primary and secondary evergreen forest.
Altitude range:
Flowering time:
Worldwide distribution:	Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon, DRC and Angola.
DRC distribution:
Growth form(s):
Endemic status:
Red data list status:
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Content last updated:	Saturday 28 September 2024
Literature:	Robyns, W. (1948). Gnetaceae Flore du Congo Belge et du Ruanda-Urundi Volume I Pages 11 - 13. (Includes a picture).

Other sources of information about Gnetum africanum:

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Gnetum africanum
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Gnetum africanum
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Gnetum africanum
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Gnetum africanum
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Gnetum africanum
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Gnetum africanum
JSTOR Plant Science: Gnetum africanum
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Gnetum africanum
Plants of the World Online: Gnetum africanum
Tropicos: Gnetum africanum
Wikipedia: Gnetum africanum