Erythroxylum obtusifolium (Wt.) Walp. - ERYTHROXYLACEAE

Synonym : Sethia lanceolata Wt. var. obtusifolia Wt.

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Botanical descriptions Ecology Distribution Literatures

Botanical descriptions :

Habit : Small trees, up to 8 m tall.
Trunk & Bark : Bark grey, flaky; blaze red.
Branches and Branchlets : Branchlets slender, flattened.
Leaves : Leaves simple, alternate, distichous; stipules in pairs 0.3 cm long, lanceolate, caducous and leaving scar; petiole 0.2-0.4 cm long, flat above; lamina 4-8 x 1.5-3 cm, elliptic, apex obtuse to slightly acuminate with blunt tip, base acute, margin entire, glabrous, glaucous beneath, chartaceous; midrib canaliculate above; secondary_nerves inconspicuous; tertiary_nerves obscure.
Inflorescence / Flower : Flowers axillary, solitary; petals yellow to white, anthers excerted.
Fruit and Seed : Drupe, narrow ellipsoid; 1-seeded.

Ecology :

Rare understorey trees in dry evergreen forests, up to 1800 m.

Distribution :

South India and Sri Lanka; in the Western_Ghats- generally along leeward side of South Sahyadri.

Literatures :

Bull. Inst. Bot. Buitenzorg 22: 54. 1905; Gamble, Fl. Madras 1: 127. 1997 (re. ed); Sasidharan, Biodiversity documentation for Kerala- Flowering Plants, part 6: 66. 2004.

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