Blepharistemma serratum (Densst.) Suresh - RHIZOPHORACEAE

Synonym : Rodschiedia serrata Densst.; Blepharistemma corymbosum Benth.; Blepharistemma membranifolia (Miq.) Ding Hou

Vernacular names : Malayalam: Karumarachedi; Nirkurunda

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Botanical descriptions Ecology Distribution Status: Literatures

Botanical descriptions :

Habit : Trees up to 6 m tall.
Trunk & Bark : Bark grey, corky lenticellate; blaze yellowish.
Branches and branchlets : Young branchlets terete, puberulous.
Leaves : Leaves simple, opposite, decussate; stipule interpetiolar caducous and leaving scar; petiole up to 1 cm long, planoconvex in corss section, pubescent when young; lamina 7.5- 16.5 x 4-7.4 cm, elliptic or narrow obovate, apex acuminate, base acute or cuneate, margin crenate (usually above two third of its length), membranous or chartaceous, glabrous beneath; midrib flat or slightly canaliculate above; secondary_nerves 7-8 pairs, gradually curved; tertiary_nerves distantly percurrent.
Inflorescence / Flower : Inflorescence axillary cymes; flowers polygamodioecious, white; petals laciniate.
Fruit and Seed : Capsule, subglobose, 0.7 cm in across, greenish black; seeds arillate.

Ecology :

Rare understorey trees in wet evergreen forests up to 700 m.

Distribution :

Endemic to the Western_Ghats- South and Central (North Malabar and South Kanara) Sahyadris.

Status: :

Vulnerable (Nayar, 1997).

Literatures :

Nicols. et. al., Interp. Hort. Malab.214. 1988; Gamble, Fl. Madras 1: 460. 1997 (re. ed); Sasidharan, Biodiversity documentation for Kerala- Flowering Plants, part 6: 169. 2004; Saldanha, Fl. Karnataka 2: 57. 1996.

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