Seemannaralia

Seemannaralia gerrardii, commonly known as the wild-maple or mock carrot tree, is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae. It is the sole member of genus Seemannaralia, and is endemic to South Africa, where it occurs in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces.[2] It was originally included in genus Cussonia. Seemann- and gerrardii commemorate Berthold Seemann and William Gerrard respectively, while -aralia suggests the family or its type genus, Aralia.[3]

Wild-maple
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Apiales
Family: Araliaceae
Subfamily: Aralioideae
Genus: Seemannaralia
R.Vig.
Species:
S. gerrardii
Binomial name
Seemannaralia gerrardii
(Seem.) R.Vig.
Synonyms[1]
  • Cussonia gerrardii Seem.
  • Panax gerrardii (Seem.) Harv.

Description

A short squat tree of open rocky situations, or a tall tree of forest and forest edge.[3] The rough grey bark is deeply cracked. As with genus Cussonia the leaves are clustered at the ends of branches. The leaf shape is characteristic: maple-like, palmate and 3 to 7 lobed.[3] Leaves turn yellow in autumn.

Flowers and fruit

The small, yellowish green flowers are produced in autumn,[3] in axillary and terminal panicles of umbels.[4] The oval flower petals have an intricate estivation.[5] The superior ovary is 1[6] or 2-locular,[4] and much compressed laterally.[5] The purplish drupes appear in winter. They are of a flattened, elliptic shape, with lateral veins.[3]

  • Panicle of flower umbels
  • Close-up of two flower umbels
  1. "Seemannaralia gerrardii (Seem.) R.Vig". The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. theplantlist.org. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  2. Foden, W.; Potter, L. (2005). "Seemannaralia gerrardii (Seem.) Harms". Red List of South African Plants version 2017.1. SANBI. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  3. Schmidt, Ernst; Lötter, Mervyn; McCleland, Warren (2002). Trees and shrubs of Mpumalanga and Kruger National Park. Johannesburg: Jacana Media. p. 488. ISBN 9781919777306.
  4. "Araliaceae - Seemannaralia R.Vig". Keys to Flora of Southern Africa. SANBI. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  5. Hooker, Joseph Dalton (1884). Cussonia gerrardi, Seem. Hooker's Icones Plantarum. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  6. Takhtajan, Armen (2009). Flowering plants (2nd ed.). Dordrecht: Springer. p. 474. ISBN 9781402096099.
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