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Woodfordia fruticosa
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Family:
LYTHRACEAE
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Citation: Woodfordia fruticosa (L.) Kurz, J. Asiat. Soc. 40: 56. 1871; Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 511(361). 1919; Manilal & Sivar., Fl. Calicut 115. 1982; M. Mohanan & Henry, Fl. Thiruvanthapuram 203. 1994; Subram., Fl. Thenmala Div. 144. 1995; Sunil & Sivadasan, Fl. Alappuzha Dist. 307. 2009; Ratheesh Narayanan, Fl. Stud. Wayanad Dist. 383. 2009.
Lythrum fruticosum L., Syst. (ed. 10) 1045. 1759.
Woodfordia floribunda Salisb., Parad. Lond. t. 42. 1806; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 2: 572. 1879.
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Malayalam Name(s):
Thathiripoovu, Thathiri
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Tamil name(s):
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English name(s):
Fire flame bush, Shiranjitea, Woodfordia
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Description:
Deciduous shrubs to 3 m tall with spreading stems. Leaves simple, opposite, subsessile, 4-11 x 2-4 cm, ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate, subcoriaceous, whitish velvety tomentose and finely orangish- or black-punctate beneath. Flowers crimson, slightly zygomorphic, in 2-16-flowered axillary cymes; pedicels to 1 cm long. Calyx tube 1-1.5 cm long, tubular; lobes 6, short, more or less triangular, alternating with small callous appendages. Petals 6, red, 3-4 mm long, lanceolate-acuminate. Stamens 12, inserted near the bottom of the calyx tube, 0.5-1.5 cm long. Ovary 4-6 mm long, oblong, 2-celled; ovules many; style 0.7-1.5 cm long. Capsule 0.6-1 x 0.25-0.4 cm, ellipsoid, included in the calyx; seeds numerous, trigonous-ovoid.
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Habit:
Shrub
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Flowering & Fruiting:
January-April
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District(s):
Kozhikkode, Alappuzha, Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram, Wayanad, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kannur, Malappuram, Palakkad
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Medicinal:
Yes
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Habitat:
Cultivated as medicinal plants
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Distribution:
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):
Red
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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:
No
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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:
KFRI garden, Muhamma, Thenmalai
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