Pavonia arabica

Pavonia arabica Hochst. ex Steud. (syn: Hibiscus flavus Forsk.; Hibiscus microphyllus Vahl (ambiguous synonym); Malache arabica (Hochst. ex Steud.) Kuntze; Pavonia arabica var. flavovelutina Ulbrich; Pavonia arabica var. glanduligera Gürke; Pavonia erlangeri Ulbr.; Pavonia erythraeae Chiov.; Pavonia franchetiana Schinz ex Gürke; Pavonia glandulosa Franch. (ambiguous synonym); Pavonia habessinia Ehrenb. ex Ulbr.; Pavonia heptagynia Ehrenb. ex Ulbr.; Pavonia pseudoarabica Mattei);

Egypt (Eastern Desert), Oman (Dhofar, Mascat & Oman), Saudi Arabia (Hejaz,
Asir), Yemen (Aden Desert, Tihama), Socotra, New Caledonia (I), India
(Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka), Pakistan (Karachi, Baluchistan), Sudan,
Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Uganda, E-Tanzania, Chad, Kenya as per Catalogue of Life;

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Perennial herbs or undershrub, erect, about 15-40 cm tall. Stems, branches densely pubescent with simple and stellate hairs, not viscid. Leaves alternate, simple, ovate-oblong, about 2-3.5 x 1-2.5 cm across, base truncate to obtuse, 5-7 veined, margins entire or towards apex denticulate, apex obtuse with mucronate tip or apiculate, stellate pubescent both above and beneath, petiole stellate pubescent, about 1-2.5 cm long, stipules linear subulate, filiform, stellate hairy, persistent, about 3-4 mm long. Inflorescence usually axillary solitary, terminal panicles or racemes, by the reduction of upper leaves. Flowers bisexual, pedicel slender, jointed above the middle near apex, densely stellate hairy and with spreading simple hairs, about 1.5-2 cm long, epicalyx segments 10-12, linear, base free, mixed with stellate and simple hairs, persistent, about 10-15 mm long calyx 5 lobed or toothed, campanulate or tubular, base shortly connate sometimes up to middle, persistent, lobes lanceolate-ovate, stellate hairy inside, densely stellate hairy outside, about 3-6 x 2 mm across, corolla showy, yellow, white, blue, pink, petals obovate, hairy near the base, about 7-12 x 5-7 mm across. Staminal column almost as long as petals, about 6 mm long, anthers basifixed, througout. Ovary 5 carpellate, ovules 1 per locule, style 10, 2 per carpel, stigma 10, capitate. Fruit indehiscent, schizocarp, oblate or discoid, about 4-5 mm across, not angled, minutely pubescent, mericarps 5, reniform, about 5 x 3 mm across, shortly winged or not, veined reticulately. Seed 1 in each mericarp, reniform, about 1.5-2 mm across, pubescent with spirally coiled hairs in longitudinal rows, brown.

(Attributions- Ganeshaiah, K. N., UAS, Bangalore, India. Kailash, B. R., ATREE, Bangalore, India. Royal Norwegian Embassy grants. Indian Bioresource Information Network (IBIN), Department of Biotechnology, New Delhi from India Biodiversity Portal)  

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References:

Catalogue of Life  BSI Flora of India  Flora of Pakistan  FOP illustration India Biodiversity Portal  Flickr  flickeriver