Chionanthus zeylanicus L. - OLEACEAE

Synonym : Linociera zeylanica (L.) Gamble

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Botanical descriptions Ecology Distribution Literature

Botanical descriptions :

Habit : Trees up to 10 m tall.
Trunk\bark : Bark greyish, scaly; blaze cream.
Branchlets : Branchlets terete, lenticellate, glabrous.
Leaves : Leaves simple, opposite, decussate; petiole up to 0.7 cm long, planoconvex to slightly canaliculate when dry, glabrous; lamina 4-7 x 1.5-3 cm, obovate or oblanceolate, apex obtuse, base cuneate to attenuate, margin entire, glabrous beneath, coriaceous; midrib raised above; secondary_nerves up to 7 pairs, obscure or visible when dry; tertiary_nerves obscure.
Flowers : Inflorescence axillary racemes; flowers white.
Fruit& seed : Drupe; seed one.

Ecology :

Trees in disturbed or semi-evergreen forests between 800 and 1200 m.

Distribution :

South India and Sri Lanka; in the Western_Ghats- South Sahyadri.

Literature :

Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 8. 1753; Gamble, Fl. Madras 2: 794.1993 (re.ed); Sasidharan, Biodiversity documentation for Kerala- Flowering Plants, part 6: 276. 2004.

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