Zehneria alba is a species of flowering plant in the cucumber and gourd family, Cucurbitaceae. It is endemic to Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the northeastern Indian Ocean. The specific epithet is from the Latin albus (white), referring to the colour of the flowers.
| Zehneria alba | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Cucurbitales |
| Family: | Cucurbitaceae |
| Genus: | Zehneria |
| Species: | Z. alba
|
| Binomial name | |
| Zehneria alba | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Description
editZehneria alba is a dioecious vine with stems growing to 3 m in length. The leaves are broadly ovate, cordate at the base, unlobed to shallowly 3-lobed, dentate, acute to acuminate, and 50–80 mm long. The flowers are small and white; the male inflorescence is paniculate or racemose, 30–150 mm long, with a 10–130 mm long peduncle; the female flowers are solitary or clustered. The fruit is ellipsoidal, 20–30 mm long, with seeds about 4 mm long.[2]
Distribution and habitat
editFound only on Christmas Island, the vine grows there both within the rainforest and along its shrubbed edges.[2]
Taxonomy
editThe vine is sometimes considered to be conspecific with Zehneria mucronata Blume.[2]
References
editNotes
editSources
edit- Ridley, H.N. (1906). Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. 45: 195.
{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - "Zehneria alba". Flora of Australia Online. Australian Biological Resources Study. 1993. Retrieved 2010-11-20.
 | This Cucurbitales article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |