Ehretia, P. Browne

Miller, James S., 2002, A revision of Ehretia (Boraginaceae) for Madagascar and the Comoro Islands, Adansonia (3) 24 (2), pp. 137-157 : 142

EHRETIA P. Browne

Civ. Nat. Hist., Jamaica: 168 (1756).

TYPE. — Ehretia tinifolia L.

Trees or shrubs, often multi-stemmed; glabrous or with an evident indument of simple, 2-3-celled, or multicellular, capitate, glandlular hairs. Leaves alternate, or clustered near the apices of short lateral branches, petiolate, the margin entire or serrate, the venation pinnate, brochididromous or less commonly semicraspedodromous or craspedodromous. Inflorescences terminal, cymose to paniculate. Flowers bisexual; calyx deeply 5-lobed, imbricate or open in bud, the margin ciliate, inner surface glabrous; corolla white, blue, or pink, tubular with 5 spreading to reflexed lobes, these often as long as or longer than the tube; stamens 5, usually exserted, the anthers oblong to ellipsoid; ovary ovoid, 2- or 4-locular, the style 1, terminal, bifid, the stigmas 2, clavate to capitate. Fruits drupaceous, ovoid to nearly spherical, the endocarp separating into 2, 2-seeded pyrenes or into 4, 1-seeded pyrenes, or rarely remaining entire, the pyrenes often reticulate or ridged on the exterior surface, but not winged.

A pantropical genus with three species in the Neotropics, about 10 in Africa, and perhaps 20 more in Asia. Seven species are known from Madagascar and the Comores, five of which are newly described.