Aulacocalyx divergens is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is a shrub or tree with white flowers.
The species is native to the forests of west Africa. It was described in 1931, and is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN.
Taxonomy The species was described in 1931, as Dorothea divergens, by John Hutchinson and John McEwan Dalziel. In 1958, Ronald William John Keay described it as Aulacocalyx divergens.
Distribution Aulacocalyx divergens is native to the wet tropical biomes of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. The species may be present in the Ivory Coast, and there is one record from Ghana. Its extent of occurrence is .
Aulacocalyx divergens grows in the understory of primary forests, along rivers and rocky streams, at elevations of . It is present in gallery forests, the Guinean forest–savanna mosaic, the Western Guinean lowland forests, and the Guinean montane forests. The species is not resistant to fire.
Aulacocalyx divergens is the only Aulacocalyx species found west of the Dahomey Gap.
Description Aulacocalyx divergens is a shrub or tree that grows high. The branches are striped.
The leaves are elliptical to oblong, long, and wide. The leaves are dark green to dark brown when dry, and have long stems.
The inflorescences grow on stems, and usually have two to four flowers. The flower stems are long. The flowers are white, and have a sickly scent. The calyx tube is long. The corolla is white, and long. The corolla has five lobes, long, and wide.
The fruits are round, black when dry, and wide. The seeds are around long, and around wide. The seeds are black when dry.
Conservation In 2021, the IUCN listed Aulacocalyx divergens as vulnerable. The extent and quality of its habitat are in decline due to slash-and-burn agriculture. The species is found within the Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve, and in the Loma Mountains forest reserve.
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