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Humboldtia vahliana
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Family:
FABACEAE/LEGUMINOSAE (Subfam.: Caesalpinioideae)
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Citation: Humboldtia vahliana Wight, Ic. tt. 1607,1608. 1850; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 2: 274. 1878; Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 411(291). 1919; Mohanan, Fl. Quilon Dist. 163. 1984; Sanjappa, Blumea 31: 338. 1986 & Legumes Ind. 30. 1992; Antony, Syst. Stud. Fl. Kottayam Dist. 147. 1989; M. Mohanan & Henry, Fl. Thiruvanthapuram 170. 1994; Subram., Fl. Thenmala Div. 114. 1995; Sasidh. & Sivar., Fl. Pl. Thrissur For. 165. 1996; Sasidh., Fl. Shenduruny WLS 109. 1997; Sasidh., Fl. Periyar Tiger Reserve 123. 1998; Ravikumar & Ved, Illustr. Field Guide 100 Red Listed Med. Pl. 192. 2000 Sasidh., Fl. Parambikulam WLS 108. 2002; Mohanan & Sivad., Fl. Agasthyamala 234. 2002; Anil Kumar et al., Fl. Pathanamthitta 200. 2005.
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Malayalam Name(s):
Aattuvanchi, Karappongu, Korathi, Kurappunna
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Tamil name(s):
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English name(s):
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Description:
Trees, to 18 m high, bark 5-6 mm thick, dark brown mottled with white; blaze pink; internodes of the branchlets solid, terete, glabrous; branchlets sometimes zig-zag. Leaves paripinnate, alternate; stipules 1.5-3 x 2.2 cm, lateral, persistent, ovate-cordate, parallel veined, glandular, glabrous, appendages reniform, divergently veined, glandular, glabrous; rachis 10-16.5 cm, stout, obscurely winged, pulvinate, tomentose or not; leaflets 4-8, opposite, estipellate; petiolule 7-10 mm long, stout, pubescent or not; lamina 10-25 x 3-6.4 cm, oblong-lanceolate, base obtuse, apex acuminate, coriaceous, glabrous; lateral nerves 8-14 pairs, pinnate, arched, prominent; intercostae reticulate, prominent, shallow depressed glands beneath. Flowers bisexual, white, 27-30 mm long, in many flowered, axillary brown velvety racemes; pedicel 5-6 mm long; bracts lanceolate, acute, villous on both surfaces, persistent; bracteoles 2, connate by base, obovate, rounded at apex, fugacious; calyx tube 8-10 mm long, lined by the disc, obconical, brown villous; lobes 4, obovate-oblong, rounded at apex, slightly concave; petals 5, 10-12 x 4 mm, obovate, shortly clawed, broadly rounded at apex, glabrous; stamens 5, perfect, alternating with 5 minute staminodes; filaments 10 mm long, red, pilose upto the middle; anthers versatile; ovary 4-5 mm long, half inferior, obliquely linear, ovules 3-4; style 10-15 mm long, filiform, pilose at base, reddish; stigma capitate. Fruit a pod, 15-20 x 3.7-6 cm, elliptic, compressed, sutures thick valves prominently veined, brown villous; seeds 3-4, almost orbicular, glabrous.
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Habit:
Tree
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Flowering & Fruiting:
February-April
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District(s):
Palakkad, Kottayam, Kollam, Idukki, Pathanamthitta, Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Kannur
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Medicinal:
Yes
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Habitat:
Along river banks in semi-evergreen and evergreen forests
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Distribution:
Southern Western Ghats
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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:
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:
Southern Western Ghats
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IUCN status:
Endangered (EN)
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Altitude:
300-1000
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Localities:
Vazhachal, Sholayar, Choodal, Koruthode, Orukomban, Parur, Konni, Ranni, Kottur R.F., Thenmalai, Vandalodu, Kazhuthuruthy, Meenmutty
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