Cylicomorpha | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Brassicales |
Family: | Caricaceae |
Genus: |
Cylicomorpha Urb., 1901 |
Species | |
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Cylicomorpha is a plant genus consisting of two species that are native to the African tropics. They are the only African representatives of the Caricaceae, [1] and are consequently related to the papaya.
They have the habit of bottle trees, [2] and their soft, dilated trunks are armed with short conical spines. The leaves are digitately lobed. [3] They are strictly dioecious, [1] [2] and like all Caricaceae, produce abundant milky sap when damaged. [1] The inflorescences are axillary. The male panicles hold many flowers, while the female flowers are solitary or borne in small numbers on short racemes. [4]
Image | Scientific name | Distribution |
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C. parviflora Urb. | eastern Kenya, Tanzania | |
C. solmsii (Urb.) Urb. | Cameroon |
They occur as tall-growing, pioneer plants in moist submontane habitats, where they are local but gregarious. [3] The western species, C. solmsii is locally threatened by clearance for agriculture and wood, and may be extinct at Mount Cameroon and at Barombi, Kumba. [3]
The fruit of both species are eaten by birds and primates. [1]