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Chrysophyllum cainito
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Family:
SAPOTACEAE
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Citation: Chrysophyllum cainito L., Sp. Pl. 192. 1753; Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 759(533). 1921; Manilal & Sivar., Fl. Calicut 156. 1982; Ansari, Fl. Kasaragod Div. 220. 1985; Antony, Syst. Stud. Fl. Kottayam Dist. 230. 1989; Babu, Fl. Malappuram Dist. 397. 1990; Sasidh. & Sivar., Fl. Pl. Thrissur For. 269. 1996; Sunil & Sivadasan, Fl. Alappuzha Dist. 405. 2009; Ratheesh Narayanan, Fl. Stud. Wayanad Dist. 497. 2009.
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Malayalam Name(s):
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Tamil name(s):
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English name(s):
Caimito, Star Apple, Satin leaf, West Indian Star Apple
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Description:
Trees, to 25 m high; bark greyish to dark brownish-black, vertically shallowly cracked; young parts golden-ferrugineous silky. Leaves simple, alternate, distichous, 5.5-14 × 2.5-7 cm, elliptic, elliptic-oblong, ovate or elliptic-ovate, apex obtusely acuminate or acuminate, base acute or obtuse, margin entire, glabrous and shining above, golden-ferrugineous silky beneath, coriaceous; petiole 8-20 mm long, stout, grooved above, silky pubescent; lateral nerves 10-26 pairs, parallel, prominent, intercostae reticulate, faint. Flowers bisexual, white, 5-20 in axillary fascicles; pedicels 0.5-1.5 cm long, silky. Sepals 5, 1.5-2 mm long, coppery, ovate, silky outside. Corolla 3.5-4 mm long; tube equalling the length of the lobes; lobes 5, ovate, silky outside. Stamens 5, included; anthers extrorse. Ovary superior, silky, ovules many; style included. Fruit a berry, 2.5-3 x 1 cm, white to purplish-black; broadly ellipsoid to globose; seeds 3-10, laterally compressed.
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Habit:
Tree
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Flowering & Fruiting:
July-September
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District(s):
All Districts
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Medicinal:
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Habitat:
Cultivated, also runs wild
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Distribution:
Native of West Indies
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Aquatic:
No
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Epiphyte(s):
No
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Saprophyte:
No
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Stem parasite:
No
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Root parasite:
No
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Flower colour(s):
Green, White
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Weed:
No
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Monocot/Dicot:
Dicotyledonous Plants
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Exotic:
Yes
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Garden:
No
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Edible:
Yes
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Vegetable:
No
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Endemic to:
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IUCN status:
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Altitude:
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Localities:
Peechi, Taliparamba, Eramallur
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