Eurya acuminata DC. - THEACEAE

English   Lao   

Botanical descriptions Habitat and ecology Distribution

Botanical descriptions :

Diagnostic characters : Small evergreen trees. Flowers unisexual on the same tree, small, yellow. Fruit berry-like, fleshy, not splitting open purple-black.
Habit : Evergreen shrubs or tree up to 12 m tall.
Trunk & bark : Bole straight, or sometimes branched at base, bark reddish--brown, smooth or finely fissured.
Branches and branchlets or twigs : Twigs terete, glabrous or finely hairy.
Exudates : Exudate absent.
Leaves : Leaves simple, alternate and distichous, young leaves long silky tomentose-hairy, lanceolate, apex acuminate, base acute, margin finely dentate.
Primary vein single, secondary veins obtuse, looped at the margin, tertiary veins reticulate. Petiole hairy, terete.
Stipules absent.
Inflorescences or flowers : Flowers arranged in a 2--5-flowered inflorescence, axillary or along leafless twigs, unisexual, on the same tree, pedicels up to 3 mm long.
Fruits : Fruit a berry up to 0.6 cm in diameter, thinly fleshy, not splitting open.
Seeds : Seeds many.

Habitat and ecology :

Common especially in clearings of evergreen hill forest.

Distribution :

South West China, India , Indonesia (Sumatra, Java), Malay Peninsula, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos (Khammouan).

Remark/notes/uses :
The wood is used for fire-wood, decoction of leaves is used against cholera, diarrhoea and other stomach-diseases.

Specimens studied :
BT 49, BT 211, BT 783, LAO 564, LAO 901 (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.

Top of the page