Alluaudia comosa | |
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In Tsimanampetsotsa National Park | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Didiereaceae |
Genus: | Alluaudia |
Species: | A. comosa
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Binomial name | |
Alluaudia comosa (Drake) Drake
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Alluaudia comosa is a rare species of flowering plant. It belongs to the family Didiereaceae, subfamily Didiereoideae, which is found only in the coastal area of SW Madagascar. [2] Didierea comosa Drake is a synonym. [3] It is listed as "vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. [1]
Alluaudia comosa has a distinctive, easily recognized silhouette with a short trunk and dense branches that stop in a flat crown. [4] This is a deciduous shrub to small tree 2-6 (-10) metres tall [4] that is woody, semi-succulent and spiny, with spines set singly. [2] Spines are grey and 1.5-3.5 cm long. [4]
Leaves are developed mostly in pairs, set on a short stalk ( petiole), dying off at the beginning of the dry season. [2] They are rounded (10–22 mm X 10 mm) and fleshy. [4]
Flowers are produced on a reduced inflorescence in Alluaudia comosa; only the end flower develops, and is set on a very short axis. Flowers are dioecious (male and female flowers on separate plants). [2]
This species grows on limestone in dry forests or coastal shrubland. [1]