Rourea minor

Names and Synonyms

Scientific Names

Accepted name

Synonyms

• Santaloides afzelii
• Santaloides minor
• Santaloides minor subsp. monadelpha
• Santaloides florida
• Santalodes humile
• Santalodes simplicifolium
• Rourea millettii
• Rourea afzelii
• Sarcotheca paniculata
• Omphalobium pictum
• Omphalobium obliquum
• Santaloides beccarii
• Cnestis monadelpha
• Rourea commutata
• Connarus obliquus
• Rourea chiliantha
• Cnestis florida
• Rourea acropetala
• Rourea acuminata
• Cnestis erecta
• Rourea erecta
• Connarus javanicus
• Rourea anomala
• Connarus roxburghii
• Rourea bamangensis
• Rourea rubella
• Rourea samoensis
• Connaropsis varians
• Rourea santaloides
• Rourea gudjuana
• Tali minor
• Rourea sookurthoontee
• Rourea simplicifolia
• Rourea humilis
• Rourea imbricata
• Santaloides microphylla var. grandifoliolata
• Rourea javanica
• Sarcotheca varians
• Rourea microcarpa
• Rourea santaloides var. mekongensis
• Rourea luzoniensis
• Rourea volubilis
• Rourea humilis f. pulchella
• Rourea subvolubilis
• Pterotum procumbens
• Rourea minor subsp. monadelpha
• Rourea striata
• Rourea florida
• Rourea splendida
• Rourea pulchella
• Rourea platysepala
• Rourea multiflora
• Santaloides splendida
• Santaloides urophylla
• Santaloides siamensis
• Santaloides vitiensis
• Santaloides sumatrensis
• Santaloides vieillardii
• Santaloides gossweileri
• Santaloides bamangensis
• Santaloides anomala
• Santaloides samoensis
• Santaloides discolor
• Santaloides cordata
• Santaloides acropetala
• Santalodes acuminatum
• Santaloides platysepala
• Santalodes monadelphum
• Santalodes roxburghii
• Santaloides pierreana
• Santaloides luzoniensis
• Santaloides gudjuana
• Santaloides papuana
• Santalodes pulchellum
• Santaloides rubella
• Santaloides desmos
• Santaloides celebica
• Santaloides elmeri
• Santaloides erecta
• Santalodes floridum
• Santalodes heterophyllum
• Santalodes multiflorum

Sources: Wikidata

Taxonomical Classification

This plant, Rourea minor, belongs to the kingdom Plantae and the phylum Streptophyta. Within the class Equisetopsida and subclass Magnoliidae, it is classified under the order Oxalidales and the family Connaraceae. Finally, it is categorized under the genus Rourea.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Distribution

This plant exhibits a specific geographical distribution concentrated within the West Tropical Africa region. It is documented to grow naturally in the country of Benin. Furthermore, its presence extends to the territory of Burkina. The species can also be found throughout Ghana and Guinea-Bissau. Finally, its range includes the nation of Guinea.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Botanical Identification

Ecology

The ecology of Rourea minor is characterized by its specific preference for dry forest and maquis (scrubland) environments. This species is found within a highly precise altitudinal niche, maintaining a consistent elevational range centered at 800 m AMSL. Its distribution is strictly constrained to this altitude, with both its minimum and maximum elevational limits recorded at 800 m AMSL, indicating a narrow specialized habitat requirement within its ecosystem.

Elevational range max:

800 m AMSL

Habitat :

dry forest, maquis (scrubland)

Life history

The life history of Rourea minor is characterized by its status as a perennial plant, allowing it to persist in its environment across multiple growing seasons. As a phanerophyte, its regenerative buds are located on aerial shoots well above the ground, a structural trait that defines its life form. This species maintains an evergreen deciduousness, ensuring that it retains its foliage throughout the year rather than shedding it seasonally.

Deciduousness :

evergreen

Life form :

phanerophyte

Lifecycle :

perennial

Morphology

The morphology of Rourea minor is characterized by a woody growth form that primarily manifests as a shrub or a tree. As a terrestrial species, it does not exhibit aquatic or epiphytic tendencies, functioning as an independent organism rather than a parasite. The plant functions as an obligatory climber, specifically taking the form of a liana to navigate its environment. In terms of stature, the plant reaches significant dimensions, with recorded heights ranging up to a maximum of approximately 18.29 meters, with an average plant height calculated at roughly 23.33 meters.

Aquatic :

terrestrial

Climber :

liana

Climber :

obligatory

Epiphyte :

terrestrial

Growth form :

tree

Growth form :

shrub

Parasite :

independent

Plant height max:

18.28822238 m

Plant height mean:

23.3333333333333 m

Woodiness :

woody

Physiology

The physiology of Rourea minor is characterized by a C3 photosynthetic pathway, indicating a standard carbon fixation process typical of many woody plants in its environment. The foliage exhibits a morphological variation in size, with leaf lengths ranging from a minimum of 3 cm to a maximum of 12 cm, maintaining a mean length of approximately 7.5 cm. In terms of breadth, the leaves vary from a minimum width of 2 cm to a maximum of 5 cm. The leaves are rhomboid in form and possess entire margins, lacking any specialized defensive structures such as thorns or spines. Furthermore, the plant does not exhibit succulence, suggesting it does not utilize specialized water-storage tissues in its leaves, and it lacks the physiological capacity for nitrogen fixation.

Leaf form :

rhomboid

Leaf length max:

12 cm

Leaf length mean:

7.5 cm

Leaf length min:

3 cm

Leaf margin :

entire

Leaf spines :

no

Leaf thorns :

no

Leaf width max:

5 cm

Leaf width min:

2 cm

Nitrogen fixer :

no

Photosynthetic pathway :

C3

Succulence :

no

Reproduction

The reproduction of Rourea minor is characterized by a biotic pollination syndrome, primarily driven by insects. The flowering process involves inflorescences that vary in length from a minimum of 0.03 m to a maximum of 0.09 m. Following successful pollination, the plant produces fleshy fruit classified as a follicle. These fruits exhibit significant morphological variation, with a mean length of 2 cm (ranging from 1.5 cm to 2.5 cm) and a mean width of 1.1 cm (ranging from 0.7 cm to 1.5 cm). The fruiting period is highly variable, occurring across various months of the year from January through December. The seeds contained within the fruit are dispersed through a zoochorous syndrome, specifically via endozoochory. Regarding seed morphology, the mass ranges from a minimum of 0.13488 g to a maximum of 0.51 g, with a mean mass of approximately 0.20958 g. Furthermore, the seed volume fluctuates between 350 mm³ and 520 mm³, maintaining a mean volume of 420 mm³.

Dispersal syndrome :

zoochorous

Dispersal syndrome :

endozoochorous

Fruit dryness :

fleshy

Fruit length max:

2.5 cm

Fruit length mean:

2 cm

Fruit length min:

1.5 cm

Fruit type :

follicle

Fruit width max:

1.5 cm

Fruit width mean:

1.1 cm

Fruit width min:

0.7 cm

Fruiting time :

variable

Inflorescence length max:

0.09 m

Inflorescence length min:

0.03 m

Pollination syndrome :

insect

Pollination syndrome :

biotic

Seed mass max:

0.51 g

Seed mass mean:

0.2095816665 g

Seed mass min:

0.13488 g

Seed volume max:

520 mm³

Seed volume mean:

420 mm³

Seed volume min:

350 mm³

Sources: Global Inventory of Floras and Traits (GIFT)

Activities

Rourea minor has 1 reported activities identified across 0 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported activities include Antitumor.

Antitumor

1. Journal of medicinal plant research