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Clidemia hirta
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Family:
MELASTOMATACEAE
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Citation: Clidemia hirta (L.) D. Don, Mem. Wern. Soc. 4: 309. 1823; Mohanan, Fl. Quilon Dist. 184. 1984; Antony, Syst. Stud. Fl. Kottayam Dist. 164. 1989; M. Mohanan & Henry, Fl. Thiruvanthapuram 194. 1994; Sasidh., Fl. Periyar Tiger Reserve 140. 1998; Sasidh., Fl. Parambikulam WLS 124. 2002; Mohanan & Sivad., Fl. Agasthyamala 267. 2002; Anil Kumar et al., Fl. Pathanamthitta 221. 2005.
Melastoma hirtum L., Sp. Pl. 390. 1753.
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Malayalam Name(s):
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Tamil name(s):
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English name(s):
Soapbush, Koster's curse
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Description:
Shrubs 0.5-3 m tall; young branches rounded, hirsute. Leaves opposite, 5-16 x 3-8 cm, ovate to oblong-ovate, apex acute to short-acuminate, base rounded to subcordate, subentire to crenulate-denticulate, 5-nerved, upper surface sparsely strigose, lower surface finely bristly, margins ciliate; petioles 0.5-3 cm long. Pedicels 0.5-1 mm long in fruit; hypanthium 3-3.5 mm long, moderately to sparsely finely bristly, usually with a mixture of gland-tipped and stellulate hairs; receptacle bearing a conspicuous ring of fimbriate scales surrounding style. Calyx lobes broadly ovate to truncate in fruit, ca. 0.5 mm long, the linear external teeth projecting 2-4 mm. Petals white, 8-11 mm long, 4-5 mm wide, glabrous. Staminal filaments ca. 2.5 mm long; anthers 3.5-4.5 mm long, dorsal spur at base ca. 0.25 mm long. Berries 6-9 mm long; seeds 0.5-0.75 mm long.
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Habit:
Shrub
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Flowering & Fruiting:
December-March
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District(s):
Palakkad, Kottayam, Kollam, Idukki, Pathanamthitta, Thiruvananthapuram
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Medicinal:
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Habitat:
Degraded forest areas
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Distribution:
Native of South America; naturalised in Paleotropics
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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):
White
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Weed:
Yes
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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:
No
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Vegetable:
No
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Endemic to:
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IUCN status:
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Altitude:
400-600
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Localities:
Pachakkanam, Kakki dam area, Anakkalvayal, Moozhiar, Pampa, Peppara
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