Thunbergia usambarica Lindau

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Photo: Bart Wursten
Castleburn Cliffs, Vumba

Photo: Bart Wursten
By the Swynnerton Memorial, Chirinda Forest

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Synonyms:	Thunbergia swynnertonii S. Moore
Common names:
Frequency:
Status:	Native
Description:	Erect or semi-prostrate perennial. Stems several, up to 1 m long, 4-angled, arising from a creeping rootstock. Leaves: petiole 2-11 cm long; lamina ovate, rarely oblong-lanceolate, up to 8-16 × 4-11 cm, glossy, palmately veined, glabrous to densely puberulous and sometimes with longer setose hairs; base cordate with hastate lobes; margin crenate to coarsely toothed with up to 7 teeth on each side. Flowers solitary or in racemes arising from lower axils. Bracteoles 0.9-2.5 cm, pale green with conspicuous dark green reticulation. Calyx 1-3 mm long. Corolla white (rarely pale blue); throat yellow; tube 2-3.5 cm long. Capsule 7-10 mm wide; beak 10-18 mm long.
Notes:	Formerly included as a form of Thunbergia petersiana but now separated on the basis of the white flowers, the shorter corolla tube and the different habitat and altitude range.
Derivation of specific name:	usambarica: after the Usambara mountains in Tanzania where the type specimen, Holst 215, was collected in 1891.
Habitat:	In montane forest, in clearings and at the margins, at higher altitudes (above 1100 m)
Altitude range:	Above 1100 m
Flowering time:
Worldwide distribution:	From Congo, Burundi southwards through East Africa to Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and South Africa.
Malawi distribution:	N,C,S
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. As Thunbergia swynnertonii Vollesen, K. (2013). Acanthaceae (Part 1) Flora Zambesiaca 8(5) Pages 36 - 37.

Other sources of information about Thunbergia usambarica:

Our websites:

Flora of Burundi: Thunbergia usambarica
Flora of Mozambique: Thunbergia usambarica
Flora of Zimbabwe: Thunbergia usambarica

External websites:

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