Seemannaralia
{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}}
{{Speciesbox
|name = Wild-maple
|image = Seemannaralia gerrardii00, white background.jpg
|display_parents = 2
|genus = Seemannaralia
|parent_authority = R.Vig.
|species = gerrardii
|synonyms =
- Cussonia gerrardii Seem.
- Panax gerrardii (Seem.) Harv.
}}
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.{{cite web |last1=Foden |first1=W. |last2=Potter |first2=L. |title=Seemannaralia gerrardii (Seem.) Harms. |url=http://redlist.sanbi.org/species.php?species=4013-1 |website=Red List of South African Plants version 2017.1 |date=2005 |publisher=SANBI |access-date=26 April 2017}} 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.{{cite book |last1=Schmidt |first1=Ernst |last2=Lötter |first2=Mervyn |last3=McCleland |first3=Warren |title=Trees and shrubs of Mpumalanga and Kruger National Park |date=2002 |publisher=Jacana Media |location=Johannesburg |isbn=9781919777306 |page=488 }}
Description
A short squat tree of open rocky situations, or a tall tree of forest and forest edge. 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. Leaves turn yellow in autumn.
=Flowers and fruit=
The small, yellowish green flowers are produced in autumn, in axillary and terminal panicles of umbels.{{cite web|title=Araliaceae - Seemannaralia R.Vig.|url=http://biodiversityadvisor.sanbi.org/wp-content/themes/bst/keys/e-Key-20160604/Genera/G_Seemannaralia.html|website=Keys to Flora of Southern Africa |publisher=SANBI |access-date=28 April 2017}} The oval flower petals have an intricate estivation.{{cite book |last1=Hooker |first1=Joseph Dalton |title=Cussonia gerrardi, Seem. |date=1884 |publisher=Hooker's Icones Plantarum |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Seemannaralia_gerrardii01.jpg |access-date=26 April 2017}} The superior ovary is 1{{cite book |last1=Takhtajan |first1=Armen |title=Flowering plants |date=2009 |publisher=Springer |location=Dordrecht |isbn=9781402096099 |page=474 |edition=2nd}} or 2-locular, and much compressed laterally. The purplish drupes appear in winter. They are of a flattened, elliptic shape, with lateral veins.
Gallery
image:Seemannaralia gerrardii.jpg|Panicle of flower umbels
image:Seemannaralia gerrardii, crop.jpg|Close-up of two flower umbels
References
{{Commons category|Seemannaralia}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q7445887|from2=Q15560442}}
Category:Monotypic Apiales genera
{{Araliaceae-stub}}