Vincetoxicum schimperi (Vatke) Liede
Pleurostelma schimperi (Vatke) Liede
Ara.: Hanoflet.
Shrub, evergreen, hermaphrodite, tomentose-lanate (except fruits), up to 80 cm in height, highly branched, sometimes with twisted branches. Leaves (1-2.5 × 0.5-1.5 cm), petiolate (3-8 mm), ± fleshy, from ovate to elliptic-ovate, cuneate at the base, with apex obtuse or acute, sometimes mucronate. Flowers (6-8 mm), sweet smelling, arranged in axillary umbels of 2-8 flowers. Pedicel 1.5-3 mm. Calyx c. 2 mm, with lobes 0.5 mm. Corolla cream, with lobes (7-10 mm) fused at the base. Follicle (4-6.5 × 1-1.5 cm) closely cylindrical, smooth and glabrous. Seeds (5-7 × 1.5-2 mm) dark brown and with a tuft of hair 2 cm.
Flowering:
May to October.
Fruiting:
July to November.
Habitat:
Sandy and stony soils, usually in coastal environments.
Distribution:
Northeast Africa. Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Sudan, reaching Jebel Elba towards the N.
Conservation status:
Rare species with a small distribution area. Currently, it has not been assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In the updated red list of Egypt (Shaltout & Bedair, 2023) it has been considered as Data Deficient (DD).