Osbeckia reticulata Bedd. - MELASTOMATACEAE

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Botanical descriptions Ecology Distribution Literatures

Botanical descriptions :

Habit : Shrubs ca. 4 m tall.
Branches and branchlets : Branchlets quadrangular with ferruginous hairs.
Leaves : Leaves simple, opposite, decussate; petiole 1 cm long, planoconvex in cross section, ferruginous hairy; lamina 5-8 x 2.5-4.5 cm, ovate, apex acute, base obtuse to subcordate, margin entire, coriaceous, dark green above, paler beneath, densely tawny - bristly on both upper and lower surfaces; midrib canaliculate above; 5-7 nerved at base.
Inflorescence / Flower : Inflorescence terminal, 4-6 flowered; flowers purple; hypanthium urceolate, 1.5 x 1.4 cm, with tufts of wooly bristles.
Fruit and Seed : Capsule urceolate; seeds numerous.

Ecology :

Small trees in the open grass lands and edges of the stunted evergreen forests at high altitude between 1800 and 2400 m.

Distribution :

Endemic to the southern Western_Ghats- Anaimalai and Palani hills in South Sahyadris.

Literatures :

Trans. Linn. Soc. London 25: 216. 1865; Hooker, Fl. Brit. India 2: 520. 1879; Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 493: 1997; Sasidharan, Biodiversity documentation for Kerala- Flowering Plants, part 6: 184. 2004.

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