Pleurostylia opposita (Wall.) Alston - CELASTRACEAE

Synonym : Celastrus opposita Wall.; Pleurostylia wightii Wt. & Arn.

Vernacular names : Tamil:  Chiru piyari, Karuvali

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Botanical descriptions Ecology Distribution Literatures

Botanical descriptions :

Habit : Small evergreen trees, up to 5 m tall.
Trunk & Bark : Bark grey, small scaly; blaze reddish.
Branches and Branchlets : Branchlets quadrangular, glabrous.
Leaves : Leaves simple, opposite, decussate; petiole 0.3 cm long; lamina 4-6 x 1-2 cm, generally obovate, sometimes elliptic, apex obtuse, base cuneate, margin entire, coriaceous, greyish on both sides when dry; midrib slightly raised above; secondary_nerves 4-6 pairs; tertiary_nerves broadly reticulate.
Inflorescence / Flower : Inflorescence axillary cymes; flowers minute, white.
Fruit and Seed : Indehiscent, ovoid, 1-2 celled; 1-seeded, covered by arillus-like testa.

Ecology :

Common in dry evergreen forests and coastal forests on lateritic soil, up to 650 m.

Distribution :

South Asia and Indian Ocean Islands; in the Western_Ghats- South Sahyadri and Malabar and Karnataka Coasts.

Literatures :

Trimen, Handb. Fl. Sri Lanka 6: (Suppl.) 48. 1931; Gamble, Fl. Madras 1: 211. 1997 (re. ed); Sasidharan, Biodiversity documentation for Kerala- Flowering Plants, part 6: 98. 2004; Saldanha, Fl. Karnataka 2: 98. 1996; Cook, Fl. Bombay 1: 230. 1902.

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