Pollichia
{{Short description|Species of dwarf shrub found in Africa}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Pollichia campestris 23910132.jpg
| genus = Pollichia
| parent_authority = Aiton, 1789
| species = campestris
| authority = Aiton
| synonyms =
}}
Pollichia campestris, commonly known as waxberry or barley sugar bush,{{cite book|author=Kirby, Gwithie |title=Wild Flowers of Southeast Botswana|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ew1bDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA73 |year=2013 |publisher=Penguin Random House South Africa|isbn=978-1-77584-135-7 |page=73}} is a herbaceous plant in the family Caryophyllaceae and the only species in the monotypic genus Pollichia. It is found in southern and eastern Africa and in the Arabian peninsula.{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:435155-1 |title=Pollichia campestris Aiton|work=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Kewscience |access-date=21 July 2019}}
Taxonomy
Pollichia campestris was first described in 1789 by the Scottish botanist William Aiton in the publication Hortus Kewensis,{{cite web |url=http://www.tropicos.org/Name/6301307 |title=Pollichia campestris|access-date=21 July 2019 |publisher=Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden}} a catalogue of all the plants then being cultivated at Kew Gardens.{{cite book|last1=Pagmenta|first1=Frank|title=The Aitons: Gardeners to their Majesties|date=2009|publisher=Richmond Local History Society |location=Richmond |isbn=9780955071751 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z2wGywAACAAJ}}
Description
Pollichia campestris is a much-branched subshrub growing to a height of about {{convert|60|cm|in|0|abbr=on}}. The erect stems have a covering of fine hairs when young. The leaves are greyish-green and hairy at first, measuring up to {{convert|3|by|1|cm|1|abbr=on}}, narrowly lanceolate or elliptical, with acute apexes, short stalks and small, membranous stipules. The inflorescence is a small, pubescent cyme growing in the axil of a leaf; the flowers are greenish-yellow with white bracts. The fruit is a capsule with a persistent receptacle and calyx, and the bracts become swollen and fleshy, waxy-white or dull orange.
Distribution and habitat
Pollichia campestris is native to the Arabian peninsula, eastern Africa and southern Africa. Its range extends from Saudi Arabia and Yemen, through Eritrea and southwards in East Africa to Angola, Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Its typical habitat is grasslands, thickets, and open woodland on light, sandy soils, at elevations of up to {{convert|2340|meter|feet|-2|abbr=on}}.
Ecology
This is a common plant throughout much of Africa. It often forms part of the subcanopy in the Kalahari thornveld region of South Africa, but in Botswana it often grows in more open habitats. The fruits are attractive to birds and the seeds of this species are dispersed by them.{{cite book|author1=L.J.G. Van der Maesen|author2=X.M. van der Burgt|author3=J.M. van Medenbach de Rooy|title=The Biodiversity of African Plants|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=993zCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA175 |year=1996 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-0-7923-4095-9 |pages=175–176}} The fruits are also eaten by people, the foliage is browsed by animals and the plant is used in traditional medicine to treat rheumatism and chest problems.
References
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{{Taxonbar|from1=Q15941288|from2=Q9061483}}
Category:Flora of East Tropical Africa
Category:Flora of Northeast Tropical Africa
Category:Flora of Saudi Arabia
Category:Flora of South Tropical Africa