Dysoxylum ficiforme (Wt.) Gamble - MELIACEAE

Synonym : Amoora ficiforme Wt.; Dysoxylum binectariferum J. Hk.

Vernacular names : Malayalam: Akil; Karakil; Puvil akil

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Botanical descriptions Ecology Distribution Literatures

Botanical descriptions :

Habit : Large trees, up to 30 m tall.
Trunk & Bark : Bark smooth, pale brown; blaze yellowish.
Branches and branchlets : Young branchlets stout, subterete, minutely pubescent.
Leaves : Leaves compound, imparipinnate, to 18 (-22) cm long, alternate, spiral, pulvinate; rachis 12 cm long, triangular; petiolule 0.4-1 cm long; leaflets 3-4 pairs, subopposite or alternate, 7-15 x 3-6 cm, narrow oblong-elliptic, apex acuminate, base asymmetric - attenuate, margin entire, thinly coriaceous, glabrous; midrib raised above; secondary_nerves 8-13 pairs; tertiary_nerves broadly reticulate.
Inflorescence / Flower : Inflorescence axillary panicles; flowers white.
Fruit and Seed : Capsule, obovoid, 5.5 x 4.5 cm, reddish when ripe; seeds 4, dark purple with white aril.

Ecology :

Canopy trees in wet evergreen forests between 400 and 1300 m.

Distribution :

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

Literatures :

Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 178 (127). 1915; Gamble, Fl. Madras 1: 178.1997 (re.ed); Sasidharan, Biodiversity documentation for Kerala- Flowering Plants, part 6: 89. 2004; Saldanha, Fl. Karnataka 2: 233. 1996; Cook, Fl. Bombay 1:208. 1903; Almeida Fl. Maharashtra 1: 226. 1996.

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