Dinosperma stipitatum (C.T.White & W.D.Francis) T.G.Hartley

Hartley, T.G. (1997) Adansonia Ser. 3 19: 192.

Mountain Turkey Bush; Turkey Bush

Usually grows into a small tree to 15 m tall, seldom exceeding 30 cm dbh but also flowers and fruits as a shrub.

Leaves generally in whorls of three. Leaf blades about 5.5-16 x 1-5 cm, much paler on the underside. Lateral veins forming loops inside the blade margin.

Inflorescence not or only slightly exceeding the leaves. Petals puberulent, about 6-7 mm long. Stamens eight, dimorphic, four long and four short. Basal half of the staminal filaments hairy. Disk at the base of the ovary. Style glabrous.

Individual fruiting carpels about 10-15 mm long. Seeds shed as the fruits open, seeds not held by any funicle-like organ. Seeds cylindrical or bullet-shaped, about 10-11 x 6 mm, testa smooth, hilum more than half the length of the seed.

Cotyledons much wider than long, about 9-15 x 20-35 mm. Oil dots visible with a lens. At the tenth leaf stage: leaf blade obovate, apex acuminate, base cuneate to attenuate, glabrous, midrib raised on the upper surface; oil dots may be visible to the naked eye; cataphylls may sometimes be produced instead of fully developed leaves. Seed germination time 13 to 15 days.

Endemic to NEQ. Altitudinal range from near sea level to 900 m. Grows as an understory tree in well developed lowland and upland rain forest.