Newtonia paucijuga

Description

Newtonia hildebrandtii is a fairly large tree growing to a height of about 35 m. 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 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, with stalked and wedge-shaped bases and rounded apexes. The inflorescence is a dense hairy spike up to 10 cm 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. The seeds are flat and oblong, with a papery wing.

Distribution and habitat

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; 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.

Status

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".

References

References

1. Gereau, R.E.. (2020). "''Newtonia paucijuga''".
2. Louppe, Dominique. (2008). "Plant Resources of Tropical Africa". PROTA.