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Newtonia paucijuga

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Newtonia paucijuga
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
Clade: Mimosoid clade
Genus: Newtonia
Species:
N. paucijuga
Binomial name
Newtonia paucijuga

Newtonia paucijuga is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. It is found in Kenya and Tanzania.

Description

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Newtonia hildebrandtii is a fairly large tree growing to a height of about 35 m (110 ft). The trunk is usually smooth and some shade of grey or greyish brown, and the small twigs are densely covered with reddish-brown hairs when young. The leaves are alternate and bi-pinnate, up to 4 cm (2 in) long, each leaf having one or two pairs of pinnae, and each pinna having two to three pairs of leaflets. There is a short gland between each pair of pinnae and further short glands between each pair of leaflets. The leaflets are linear or oblong and up to 7 by 4 cm (2.8 by 1.6 in), with stalked and wedge-shaped bases and rounded apexes. The inflorescence is a dense hairy spike up to 10 cm (4 in) long at the tip of the twig or in a leaf axil. The white flowers are bisexual and have parts in fives. They are followed by reddish-brown, flattened pods up to 30 by 3 cm (12 by 1 in). The seeds are flat and oblong, with a papery wing.[2]

Distribution and habitat

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Newtonia paucijuga is native to East Africa, where its range extends from southeastern Kenya to southern Tanzania. It is found in forests at elevations of up to 500 m (1,640 ft); this can be moist evergreen forest or drier evergreen forest, as well as riverine forest and secondary forest. These types of habitat are under threat from human development.[2]

Status

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This tree is fairly common in suitable habitat in East Africa, for example in the Shimba Hills in Kenya, but it has a limited range, being only found in fragments of coastal and gallery forest, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as "vulnerable".[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Gereau, R.E.; Kabuye, C.; Kalema, J.; Kamau, P.; Kindeketa, W.; Luke, W.R.Q.; Lyaruu, H.V.M.; Malombe, I.; Mboya, E.I.; Mollel, N.; Njau, E.-F.; Schatz, G.E.; Sitoni, D.; Ssegawa, P.; Wabuyele, E. (2020). "Newtonia paucijuga". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T33473A2836838. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T33473A2836838.en. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b Louppe, Dominique (2008). Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. PROTA. pp. 396–398. ISBN 978-90-5782-209-4.