DORSTENIA LAVRANI

This member of the Moraceae family was discovered by John Lavrence in 1973, and was in many years known as "Dorstenia sp. Taba'a Gorge". In 2008, it was described and given it's name in Cactus and Succulent Journal (March 2008) by Tom Mccoy and Mike Massara. It is only found in the steep Taba'a Gorge in Northern Somalia, growing in moss-filled cracks on steep limestone. It receives only little water and not much sun. This is the only known dioecious Dorstenia (the plant is either male or female). As with other Dorstenia s, it is not true flowers, but Male: Hypanthodias and female: Reeceptacles, both green. The slender plant will grow to 15 centimetres or more high, with stems up to three centimetres in diameter. The genera is named after Theodor Dorsten, 16th century German botanist and medical professor at Marburg. The species name after John J. Lavranos, 1926-, a Greek broker and botanist. Photo of female with flowers by Emilio Begine. Photo of the leaves by Emilio Begine.