Antidesma velutinosum Blume - EUPHORBIACEAE

Synonym : Antidesma attenuatum Tul.
Antidesma molle Müll.Arg.

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Botanical descriptions Habitat and ecology Distribution

Botanical descriptions :

Diagnostic characters : Leaves alternate and distichous. Intramarginal veins, looped. Young twigs densely covered by yellowish to brown hirsute hairs. Fruit a fleshy drupe.
Habit : Small tree up to 10 m high.
Trunk & bark : Trunk straight . Bark smooth, pustular, whitish grey or brownish.
Branches and branchlets or twigs : Young shoots densely hairy with ferrugineous hairs. Branchlets terete, glabrous when mature.
Exudates : Exudate absent.
Leaves : Leaves simple alternate and distichous, 10-25 by 3-8 cm, oblong or lanceolate with tapering tip, base attenuate to rounded, margin entire, blade chartaceous, mature leaves glabrescent above, covered with silvery or yellowish velvety hairs below.
Midrib canaliculated above, primary vein single, secondary veins oblique to the midrib, intramarginal veins looped, tertiary veins oblique. Petiole densely hairy with ferrugineous hairs, Stipules hairy, caducous.
Inflorescences or flowers : Flowers grouped in terminal and axillary compact spikes more or less hairy.
Fruits : Fruit is a fleshy drupe, 0.5-0.6 cm, globose or slightly oblique, finely hairy.
Seeds : Seed(s) 1-2.

Habitat and ecology :

In primary and secondary vegetation, in dry, more rarely wet, evergreen, deciduous or mixed deciduous forests up to 600 m altitude. Flowering period: April.

Distribution :

Found in Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Malaysia Peninsular, Thailand and Laos ( Khammouan province).

Remark/notes/uses :
The fruits are said to be edible.

Specimens studied :
BT 163 and BT 466 (Herbarium of Faculty of Sciences-NUoL, NHN-Leiden and CIRAD-Montpellier).

Literature :
Flore Générale de l’Indochine. 1925-1927. Vol. 5, Fasc. 4-6. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Laboratoire de Phanérogamie, Paris, France.
Gardner S., Sidisunthorn P. & Anusarnsunthorn V. 2000. A field guide to Forest Trees of Northern Thailand. Kobfai Publishing Project. Bangkok. Thailand.
Kongkanda Chayamarit & Peter C. Van Welzen. 2005. Euphorbiaceae. Flora of Thailand, Vol. 8, part 1.The Forest Herbarium, Royal Forest Department, Bangkok, Thailand.

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