M. Thulin (1993) Adenia. Flora of Somalia 1: 210-213
Plants shrubs or climbers up to 8 m long; trunks succulent, more or less warty, grey-green, subglobose, up to 2.5 m wide; stems strongly spiny; spines up to 9 cm long; tendrils absent. Leaves petiolate, grey-green, falling quickly; petioles 0.1-0.15 cm long; gland at base of blade solitary, ellipsoid to reniform, 1-2 mm in diameter, no other glands present; blades 0.3-0.7 mm long, 0.15-0.9 cm wide, entire to 3-lobed, subtriangular to rhomboid or hastate, 3-veined from the base, reticulations indistinct, bases rounded, tips acute. Inflorescences 0.25-2(-5) cm long, inflorescences of male plants with 1-5 flowers, those of female plants with 1-3 flowers. Male flowers narrowly tube- to funnel-shaped, 19-30(-35) mm long (including the 6-10(-14) mm long stipe); hypanthia 5-12 mm long; sepals lanceolate, obtuse, 6-9 mm long, entire; petals obovate or ovate to oblong-lanceolate, obtuse to subacute, 4-7.5 mm long, 1.5-2.5 mm wide, denticulate; corona absent; pistillode rudimentary. Female flowers tubular-campanulate, (6-)8-12 mm long (including the 1-2 mm long stipe), 2.5-4 mm wide; hypanthia cup-shaped, (1-)1.5-4 mm long; sepals lanceolate, obtuse, 5-8 mm long, denticulate; petals oblong, subacute, (1.5-)2-3 mm long, 0.75-1 mm wide, tips serrulate; staminodes 1.5-3.5 mm long, free; corona absent; gynophore (0.5)1-1.5 mm long; pistils (4-)5-9 mm long; ovaries ovate ellipsoid, 2.5-4.5 mm long, 2-3(-3.5 mm wide; placentas 3; ovules 6-30; style branches 3. Fruits subglobose to ovate-ellipsoid (excluding the 1-3 mm long gynophore), 1.2-2.8 cm long, 1-2 cm wide; seeds broadly ovate, about 7 mm long and 5.5-6 mm wide, surfaces with 6-9 pits.
Adenia globosa grows in acacia-Commiphora bushland at low altitudes. It is known from regions S2-3 of Somalia of the Flora of Somalia. It is not known from Somaliland but is known from southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. The Somali plants belong to Adenia globosa subsp. globosa. It differs from the other two subspecies (subsp. pseudoglobosa and subsp. curvata) in its scandent main stem, longer spines and smaller fruits.
Information from Shanpai Chenxing: The spines are useful for distinguishing vegetative specimens Adenia ballyi from those of Adenia globosa, Adenia ballyi having thinner, more widely spaced spines than Adenia globosa. Added 7 March 2024.
Barkworth: Based on online images, the two species may also differ in the prominence of their warts, Adenia ballyi having less prominent warts, but this needs further study. Added 7 March 2024.
Plants of the World Online (POWO): Adenia globosa Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF): Adenia globosa. Note: the map may include records from cultivated plants.