Schefflera capitata (Wt. & Arn.) Harms - ARALIACEAE

Synonym : Paratropia capitata Wt. & Arn.

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Botanical descriptions Ecology Distribution Literatures

Botanical descriptions :

Habit : Trees up to 15 m tall.
Leaves : Leaves compound, digitate, wooly when young, alternate, spiral, pulvinate with sheathing base, stipule adnate to the petiole; petiolules up to 5 cm long; leaflets 6-8 (to 11), lamina 8-17.5 x 3.8-5.5 cm, elliptic-oblong, apex acute or acuminate, base rounded or truncate, coriaceous; midrib raised above; secondary_nerves 13-16 pairs, slender; tertiary_nerves broadly reticulate.
Inflorescence / Flower : Flower umbels in panicles of racemes on stout branches.
Fruit and Seed : Drupe; seeds compressed.

Ecology :

Canopy trees in high altitude (1400-2200 m) evergreen forests and along margin in medium elevation (800-1400 m) evergreen forests.

Distribution :

Endemic to the Western_Ghats- common in Nilgiris, Anamalai and Palani Hills and occasional in other parts South and Central Sahyadris.

Literatures :

Engler & Prantl, Naturl. Pflanzenfam. 3(8): 36. 1894; Gamble, Fl. Madras 1: 568. 1997 (re. ed); Sasidharan, Biodiversity documentation for Kerala- Flowering Plants, part 6: 206-207. 2004; Saldanha, Fl. Karnataka 2: 274. 1996.

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