Bersama abyssinica

Taxobox
name = Winged Bersama


regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Geraniales
familia = Melianthaceae
genus = "Bersama"
species = "B. abyssinica"
binomial = "Bersama abyssinica"
binomial_authority = Hoyle
synonyms =
* "Bersama schreberifolia"
* "Bersama schweinfurthii"
* "Bersama serrata"
* "Bersama volkensii"
range_

range_map_width = 250px
range_map_caption =Approximate range/distribution map of "Bersama abyssinica"; green shows countries where it is present

"Bersama abyssinica" is a species of medium-sized evergreen tree in the Melianthaceae family. The leaves are pinnately divided with a strongly winged rachis (hence the common name Winged Bersama). [cite web | title= Bersama abyssinica Fresen. | url= http://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/cult/species.php?species_id=164510 | accessdate=2007-12-03 | work= [http://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/ Flora of Zimbabwe] ] The inflorescence is a spike.

This species is distributed across sub-Saharan Africa and includes two subspecies [cite web | title=Bersama abyssinica Fresen. subsp. abyssinica Fresen. [family MELIANTHACEAE] | url= http://www.aluka.org/action/showCompilationPage?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.COMPILATION.PLANT-NAME-SPECIES.BERSAMA.ABYSSINICA&pgs= | accessdate=2007-12-03 | work= [http://www.aluka.org/ Aluka] ] :
*"B. abyssinica" Fresen. subsp. "abyssinica" Fresen.
*"B. abyssinica" Fresen. subsp. "rosea" (Hoyle) Mikkelsen [cite journal | first=K. S. | last=Mikkelsen | coauthors=O. Seberg | year=2001 | title= Morphometric analysis of the "Bersama abyssinica" Fresen. complex (Melianthaceae) in East Africa | journal=Plant Systematics and Evolution | volume=227 | issue=3-4 | pages=157–182 | doi=10.1007/s006060170046 ]

The subspecies "rosea" is endemic to Tanzania, where it is considered vulnerable. [Lovett, J. & Clarke, G.P. (1998) [http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/34225/all "Bersama rosea"] . [http://www.iucnredlist.org 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. ] Downloaded on 20 August 2007.]

"Bersama abyssinica" produces a hard, heavy wood that is used in the construction of houses in West Africa. [cite book | author=Heywood, V. H. (ed.) | year = 1993 | title=Flowering Plants of the World | edition=2nd ed. | location=New York | publisher=Oxford University Press | pages=191-192 ]

References

External links

* [http://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/cult/species.php?species_id=164510 Images from the "Flora of Zimbabwe"]