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Flora of Peninsular Malaysia Online - Newsletter subscription page
Posted: June 7, 2011
Volume 79/11 2011
Capparis diffusa Ridl. belongs to the Capparaceae. It is a sprawling shrub reaching to 4 m tall. The branches are slender and pubescent becoming glabrescent with age. The twigs are straight, while the thorny stipules, 1–3 mm long are recurved. The leaves are alternately arranged and the glabrous laminas are elliptic (4.2–9.4 × 1.5–4 cm) with the apex usually obtuse or sometimes acute. It gets its name 'diffusa' from the widely spreading, i.e. diffuse, flowers that are arranged in umbels of 5 (sometimes 3 or 4) flowers that are either terminal (mostly) or lateral on the small leafy twigs. The four boat-shaped (3–5 × 3–4 mm) sepals are arranged in pairs, the outer pair is dark green and glabrous, while the inner pair whitish green and ciliate. The petals are oblong or oblanceolate, 4.5–8 × 2 mm, white and densely woolly on both surfaces. The twelve stamens have slender filaments 4.5–5.2 mm long with white anthers about 1 mm long. The gynophores are pinkish and glabrous. The fruits are globose and c. 8 mm in diameter. It was first described in 1911 from Bukit Lagi, Perlis, but has not been collected from there since then. We were also unsuccessful when recently we searched for it on Bukit Lagi, which is now a recreational area and heavily disturbed by the building of a Buddhist Temple, a stairway to the summit, housing and even a rubbish dumping area. It is likely that this population has been destroyed. However, our field work to another of its known localities, Bukit Serdam (Pahang), was successful. Here, it is rather common, although we were only able to collect sterile material but at Gua Kechil (Pahang) close by we were lucky enough to find one individual plant in flower and fruit. Capparis diffusa is classified as Vulnerable in Peninsular Malaysia under IUCN conservation status criteria because it is confined to limestone hills that are unprotected on state land and are vulnerable to disturbance, such as has occurred on Bukit Lagi. Both Gunung Pondok (Perak) and Bukit Serdam are in the process of being entirely quarried away, and the foothills of Gua Kechil have been cleared for fruit orchards. For the population observed recently at Pulau Jerkom Kechil (Langkawi Islands), we found sterile plants growing healthily there. Capparis diffusa is also known from N Sumatra, Thailand and Cambodia. References: 1. Jacobs, M. 1960. Capparidaceae. Flora Malesiana 1, 6: 81. 2. Chin, S.C. 1979. The Limestone Hill Flora of Malaya II. Garden Bulletin Singapore 32: 103 By Julius, A. (
[email protected]) Edited by Dr. Ruth Kiew
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