Nuxia gracilis, commonly known as sticky elder or sticky nuxia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Stilbaceae. It is a shrub with white flowers, and capsule fruits. The species is native to South Africa, and was described in 1888.
Taxonomy The species was described by Adolf Engler in 1888.
Distribution The species is native to the seasonally dry tropical biome of South Africa. It is present in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, the Northern Cape, and the North West. The species is found at elevations of .
Nuxia gracilis grows in dry river beds, and at the base of limestone escarpments.
Description Nuxia gracilis is a perennial shrub that grows high. The leaves are linear-oblanceolate, long, wide, and usually grow in groups of three. The leaf margins are finely serrated.
The flowers are white, arranged in clusters of eight or more, and grow on long stems. The calyx is light brown or green. The corolla is white, and forms a tube enclosed in the calyx. The corolla has lobes, which are broadly oblong, around , and around wide. The inflorescences are similar to those of Nuxia glomerulata.
The fruits are dehiscent, densely hairy capsules.
Names In English, Nuxia gracilis is commonly known as sticky elder, sticky nuxia, or limestone-elder. In Afrikaans, the species is known as or .
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