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Phyllanthus emblica
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Family:
EUPHORBIACEAE
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Citation: Phyllanthus emblica L., Sp. Pl. 982. 1753; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 5: 289. 1887; Manilal & Sivar., Fl. Calicut 262. 1982; Mohanan, Fl. Quilon Dist. 370. 1984; Manilal, Fl. Silent Valley 253. 1988; Babu, Fl. Malappuram Dist. 730. 1990; Vajr., Fl. Palghat Dist. 436. 1990; M. Mohanan & Henry, Fl. Thiruvanthapuram 424. 1994; Subram., Fl. Thenmala Div. 332. 1995; Sasidh. et al., Bot. Stud. Med. Pl. Kerala 10,16. 1996; Sasidh. & Sivar., Fl. Pl. Thrissur For. 412. 1996; Sasidh., Fl. Shenduruny WLS 293. 1997; Sivar. & Mathew, Fl. Nilambur 636. 1997; Sasidh., Fl. Periyar Tiger Reserve 377. 1998; Sasidh., Fl. Chinnar WLS 288. 1999; Sasidh., Fl. Parambikulam WLS 297. 2002; Mohanan & Sivad., Fl. Agasthyamala 617. 2002; Anil Kumar et al., Fl. Pathanamthitta 453. 2005; N.P.Balakr. & Chakrab., Fam. Euphorbiaceae India 369. 2007; Sunil & Sivadasan, Fl. Alappuzha Dist. 647. 2009; Ratheesh Narayanan, Fl. Stud. Wayanad Dist. 749. 2009.
Emblica officinalis Gaertn., Fruct. 2: 122. 1791; Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 1295(906). 1925; Ramach. & V.J. Nair, Fl. Cannanore Dist. 414. 1988.
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Malayalam Name(s):
Amalakam, Nelli
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Tamil name(s):
Amla
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English name(s):
Emblic myrobalan, Indian gooseberry
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Description:
Deciduous trees, to 15 m high, bark grey-brown, rough, irregularly flaking. Leaves simple, alternate, bifarious on short deciduous branchlets, closely overlapping, subsessile, 0.4-1.5 x 2-4 mm, oblong or linear-oblong, apex obtuse and shortly apiculate, base round, glabrous, membranous, nerves obscure; stipules minute, lateral, linear. Flowers unisexual, 2-3 mm across, greenish-yellow, densely clustered in leaf axils. Male flowers: tepals 6, oblanceolate, 1.5 mm, obtuse, stamens 3, anthers oblong, connate by their connectives; apiculate; disc glands 6. Female flowers: tepals 6, oblanceolate, obtuse; ovary superior, 1.5 mm, 3-celled; ovules 2 in each cell; styles 3, broadly fimbriate, recurved, stigmatiferous. Fruit a capsule 1.5-2.5 cm across, subglobose, dehiscing into 6 cocci, disc enlarged to give an appearance of fleshy yellowish-green, indehiscent berry.
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Habit:
Tree
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Flowering & Fruiting:
July-February
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District(s):
All Districts
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Medicinal:
Yes
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Habitat:
Dry and moist deciduous forests, also cultivated in the plains
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Distribution:
Throughout the tropics
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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, Pink
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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:
Yes
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Vegetable:
Yes
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Endemic to:
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IUCN status:
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Altitude:
300-750
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Localities:
Peechi, Kattalappara, Nellimedu, Vallakkadavu, Thellickal, Campshed area, Pappinippara, Begur, Marayur, Ayyappankovil, Mukkali forests, Sappal hill-Dhoni R. F., Nedumkayam, Kulathupuzha, Ettapadappu, Thenmalai, Angadikkal, Agasthymala peak, Meenmutty
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