Hagenia

Hagenia is a monotypic genus of flowering plant with the sole species Hagenia abyssinica, native to the high-elevation Afromontane regions of central and eastern Africa. It also has a disjunct distribution in the high mountains of East Africa from Sudan and Ethiopia in the north, through Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Tanzania, to Malawi and Zambia in the south.

"Kosso" redirects here. For other uses, see Kosso (disambiguation).

Hagenia
Hagenia abyssinica
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Subfamily: Rosoideae
Tribe: Sanguisorbeae
Subtribe: Agrimoniinae
Genus: Hagenia
J.F.Gmel.
Species:
H. abyssinica
Binomial name
Hagenia abyssinica

It is known in English as African redwood, East African rosewood,[1] brayera, cusso, hagenia, or kousso, in Amharic as kosso, and in Swahili as mdobore or mlozilozi. Its closest relative is the Afromontane genus Leucosidea. Synonyms of the species include Banksia abyssinica, Brayera anthelmintica, Hagenia abyssinica var. viridifolia and Hagenia anthelmintica.

Description

It is a tree up to 20 m in height, with a short trunk, thick branches, and thick, peeling bark. The leaves are up to 40 cm long, compound with 7-13 leaflets, each leaflet about 10 cm long with a finely serrated margin, green above, silvery-haired below. The flowers are white to orange-buff or pinkish-red, produced in panicles 30–60 cm long.

Distribution

It is generally found from 2000–3000 m elevation, in areas receiving 1000–1500 mm of rainfall annually. It can be found growing in mixed afromontane forest with Podocarpus, Afrocarpus, and other trees, and in drier afromontane forests and woodlands where Hagenia is dominant, or in mixed stands of Hagenia and Juniperus procera. It is often found near the upper limit of forest growth, giving way to giant heather zones above it.

Ecology

Hagenia is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including turnip moth.

References
  1. Bruijnzeel, L.A.; F. N. Scatena; L. S. Hamilton (2010). Tropical Montane Cloud Forests: Science for Conservation and Management. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 137. ISBN 9780521760355.
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