''Platypterocarpus tanganyikensis'' is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the family

Celastraceae The Celastraceae (staff-vine or bittersweet) are a family of 98 genera and 1,350 species of herbs, vines, shrubs and small trees, belonging to the order Celastrales. The great majority of the genera are tropical, with only ''Celastrus'' (the staf ...

. It is a tree endemic

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the West

Usambara Mountains The Usambara Mountains of northeastern Tanzania in tropical East Africa, comprise the easternmost ranges of the Eastern Arc Mountains. The ranges are approximately long and about half that wide, and they are situated in the Lushoto District ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

, where it grows 13 to 27 meters tall. It is the sole species in genus ''Platypterocarpus''.''Platypterocarpus tanganyikensis'' Dunkley & Brenan
''

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

''. Retrieved 26 November 2023. It grows in the transition zone between wet and dry

Afromontane The Afromontane regions are subregions of the Afrotropical realm, one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms, covering the plant and animal species found in the mountains of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula. The Afromontane regions o ...

forest from 1500 to 1900 meters elevation, where it is fairly common in ''Podocarpus–Juniperus–Ocotea'' forest on grey sandy soil.

References

Celastraceae Monotypic Celastrales genera Afromontane flora Endemic flora of Tanzania Flora of the Eastern Arc forests Critically endangered plants Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Plants described in 1948 {{Celastraceae-stub