Syzygium gambleanum Rathakr. & Chitra - MYRTACEAE

Synonym : Eugenia microphylla Bedd.; Syzygium microphyllum Gamble

Vernacular names : Malayalam: Cherunjaval

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Botanical descriptions Ecology Distribution Literatures

Botanical descriptions :

Habit : Trees up to 10 m tall.
Trunk & Bark : Bark greyish brown with white patches, flaky in mature trees.
Branches and branchlets : Young branchlets quadrangular when young, later terete, slender, glabrous.
Leaves : Leaves simple, opposite, decussate; petiole 0.1 cm long, canaliculate, glabrous; lamina small, 0.6-3 x 0.2-1 cm, lanceolate, elliptic to obovate, apex obtuse, base acute - rounded, margin revolute, pellucid gland dotted, coriaceous, glabrous; midrib canaliculate; secondary_nerves and tertiary_nerves obscure.
Inflorescence / Flower : Inflorescence terminal and axillary umbels, rarely solitary; flowers white; pedicel 0.2 cm long.
Fruit and Seed : Berry 0.8×5 cm, globose to oblong, crowned by persistent calyx, purple; seed one.

Ecology :

Along the margin of exposed evergreen forests between 1100 and 1400 m.

Distribution :

Endemic to the southern Western_Ghats- Agasthyamalai hills.

Literatures :

Henry & Nair, Fl. Tamil Nadu Ser. 1, 1: 156. 1983; Gamble, Fl. Madras 1: 479.1997 (re.ed); Sasidharan, Biodiversity documentation for Kerala- Flowering Plants, part 6: 176. 2004; Sheeba et al., 2003. Bull. Bot. Surv. India 45: 111.

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