Crypteronia paniculata Blume - CRYPTERONIACEAE

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Botanical descriptions Habitat and ecology Distribution

Botanical descriptions :

Diagnostic characters : Twigs square, thickened at the nodes. Leaves simple, opposite, glabrous, tertiary veins reticulate. Flowers greenish-white. Fruit a small capsule, seeds winged.
Habit : Evergreen tree up to 30 m tall, branches steeply ascending.
Trunk & bark : Bole straight, slender, bark thick, dark grey-brown, fissured, somewhat flaking.
Branches and branchlets or twigs : Twigs quadrangular, glabrous, thickened at nodes.
Exudates : Exudate absent.
Leaves : Leaves simple, opposite, glabrous, narrowly ovate to elliptic, apex round or acute, base rounded, margin entire.
Primary vein single, secondary veins obtuse, tertiary veins reticulate.
Stipules minute, falling off early.
Inflorescences or flowers : Flowers arranged in a many-flowered inflorescence, mainly terminal, unisexual, male and female on different trees, pedicels up to 3 mm long.
Fruits : Fruit capsule up to 0.5 cm long, dry, splitting in 2 sections.
Seeds : Seeds many, winged.

Habitat and ecology :

Not common in undisturbed evergreen forest.

Distribution :

Bangladesh, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, India (Assam, Andamans), Malesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos (Attapu, Champasak, Khammouan, Savannakhet, Vientiane).

Remark/notes/uses :
The yellowish-red timber is used for furniture and casing. The young shoots are eaten as a vegetable.

Specimens studied :
BT 190, LAO 551, LAO 884, LAO 961, LAO 966 (Herbarium of Faculty of Sciences-NUoL, NHN-Leiden and CIRAD-Montpellier).

Literature :
Gardner S., Sidisunthorn P. & Anusarnsunthorn V. 2000. A field guide to Forest Trees of Northern Thailand. Kobfai Publishing Project. Bangkok. Thailand.

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