About Chaetachme aristata Planch.
Chaetachme is a monotypic genus of flowering plants that is native to eastern and western Africa, including Madagascar. The genus contains only one species: Chaetachme aristata Planch. Its common English name is thorny elm, and it is called muyuyu in the Kikuyu language. While it was traditionally classified in the Elm family, more recent classification places it in the family Cannabaceae, where it is thought to be possibly closely related to the genus Celtis. Chaetachme aristata grows as a shrub or small tree that reaches up to 10 metres (33 ft) tall. It has drooping, angular branches that are covered with spines up to 3.5 centimetres (1.4 in) long. Its leaves are lance-shaped, growing up to 11 centimetres (4.3 in) long and 5 centimetres (2.0 in) wide, with pointed tips and either smooth or serrated edges. This species is typically dioecious and sexually dimorphic, meaning male and female flowers grow on separate individual plants, though it may also be monoecious. Chaetachme aristata acts as a host plant for the mirid bug Volumnus chaetacme. In African villages, the spiny branches of this shrub are used to make fences.
