Faroa acaulis R.E. Fr.

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Habit
Seepage grassland on thin sandy soils over granite outcrop
Ikelenge District
May 2025
Photo: Nick Wightman

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Synonyms:	Faroa paradoxa Gilg ex T.Durand & H.Durand Faroa pygmaea Mildbr.
Common names:
Frequency:
Status:
Description:	Small acaulescent herb, 5–15 mm tall. Leaves in a prostrate rosette of 3–4 pairs, petiolate; petiole shorter than the lamina; lamina 6–45 x 3–32 mm, ovate-deltoid or ovate, cuneate to round at the base, obtuse at the apex; the lower smaller. Inflorescence a dense solitary hemispheric cluster, sessile in the centre of the leaf rosette. Flowers violet, blue, rose to whitish, 5–15 mm in diam.; pedicels 0.5–12 mm long. Calyx tube 0.8–1 mm long; lobes 2–3 x 0.5–0.8 mm long, spathulate. Corolla tube 1.5–2.5 mm long; lobes 1–1.5 x 0.6–0.8 mm, ovate-lanceolate, subacute. Filaments 0.5–1.3 mm long, shorter than the corolla lobes; anthers 0.5–0.6 mm long, ellipsoid. Capsule 1.8–2 x 1–1.2 mm, ellipsoid-cylindric. Seeds c. 0.5 mm in diameter, minutely scrobiculate.
Type location:	Zambia
Notes:
Derivation of specific name:	acaulis: Greek for stemless or with a very short stem
Habitat:
Altitude range: (metres)
Flowering time:	Mar - Jun
Worldwide distribution:	Gabon, DRC, Angola, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia
Growth form(s):	Annual.
Endemic status:
Red data list status:
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Literature:	Burrows, J.E. & Willis, C.K. (eds) (2005). Plants of the Nyika Plateau Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 31 SABONET, Pretoria Page 176. (Includes a picture). Ntore, S. & al. (2024). Checklist of the vascular plants of Burundi Page 138. Paiva, J. & Nogueira, I. (1990). Gentianaceae Flora Zambesiaca 7(4) Page 42.

Other sources of information about Faroa acaulis:

Our websites:

Flora of Malawi: Faroa acaulis
Flora of Zambia: Faroa acaulis

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Faroa acaulis
African Plant Database: Faroa acaulis
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Faroa acaulis
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Faroa acaulis
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Faroa acaulis
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Faroa acaulis
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Faroa acaulis
JSTOR Plant Science: Faroa acaulis
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Faroa acaulis
Plants of the World Online: Faroa acaulis
Tropicos: Faroa acaulis
Wikipedia: Faroa acaulis