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Lophopetalum wightianum
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Family:
CELASTRACEAE
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Citation: Lophopetalum wightianum Arn., Ann. Nat. Hist. 3: 151. 1839; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 1: 615. 1875; Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 205(147). 1918; Mohanan, Fl. Quilon Dist. 115. 1984; Ansari, Fl. Kasaragod Div. 100. 1985; Manilal, Fl. Silent Valley 55. 1988; Ramach. & V.J. Nair, Fl. Cannanore Dist. 96. 1988; Antony, Syst. Stud. Fl. Kottayam Dist. 104. 1989; Vajr., Fl. Palghat Dist. 119. 1990; M. Mohanan & Henry, Fl. Thiruvanthapuram 116. 1994; Subram., Fl. Thenmala Div. 68. 1995; Sasidh. & Sivar., Fl. Pl. Thrissur For. 106. 1996; Sasidh., Fl. Shenduruny WLS 66. 1997; Sasidh., Fl. Periyar Tiger Reserve 68. 1998; K. Ramam. in N.P. Singh et al., Fl. India 5: 116. 2000; Sasidh., Fl. Parambikulam WLS 65. 2002; Mohanan & Sivad., Fl. Agasthyamala 161. 2002; Anil Kumar et al., Fl. Pathanamthitta 126. 2005; K. Ramam. & P. Venu in P. Daniel, Fl. Kerala 1: 709. 2005; Sunil & Sivadasan, Fl. Alappuzha Dist. 171. 2009; Ratheesh Narayanan, Fl. Stud. Wayanad Dist. 222. 2009.
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Malayalam Name(s):
Vembala, Venkadavam, Venkkotta
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Tamil name(s):
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English name(s):
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Description:
Evergreen trees, to 30 m high, bole buttressed; bark yellowish-brown, mottled with white, smooth, brittle; branchlets terete, brown. Leaves simple, opposite or subopposite, estipulate, 7.5-25 x 3.7-10 cm, elliptic, elliptic-oblong, oblong, ovate or ovate-oblong, apex obtuse or acute, base obtuse or round, margin entire, coriaceous, glabrous; petiole 10-25 mm long, stout, grooved above, glabrous; lateral nerves 6-12 pairs, pinnate, arched towards the margin, prominent, intercostae reticulate, slender, prominent. Flowers bisexual, 15-18 mm across, pinkish to dull red, in lax axillary or terminal dichasial cymes. Calyx broadly flattened at base, 0.5-0.6 cm across; lobes 5, broad, obtuse, very short. Petals 5, 0.5-0.6 cm long, continuous with the disc, orbicular, uneven, clawed, crispate above, persistent, spreading; disc large, flat, 5 lobed. Stamens 5, inserted on the disc; filaments subulate; anthers oblong. Ovary small, immersed in the disc and continuous with it, triquetrous, 3-celled, ovules 4 or more in each cell; style short, stigma capitate. Fruit a capsule 8-10 x 2.5-3.5 cm, 3-angled, trigonous, 3 valved, brown, smooth, pointed at both ends, loculicidal; seeds thin, surrounded by long linear wing, 5 x 1.2 cm, brown, compressed, arillate.
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Habit:
Tree
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Flowering & Fruiting:
December-July
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District(s):
All Districts
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Medicinal:
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Habitat:
Evergreen forests and sacred groves
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Distribution:
Indo-Malesia
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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):
Pink, Red
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Weed:
No
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Monocot/Dicot:
Dicotyledonous Plants
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Exotic:
No
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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:
500-900
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Localities:
Sholayar, Rosemala, Kulathupuzha, Vallakkadavu, Orukomban, Kummattanthode, Pathenthode, Thannithode, Aikdau, Chandanathode, Kannoth, Periyarum, Mukkali forests, Kanichukulangara, Thiruvizha, Kulathupuzha, Attayar, Meenmutty
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