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Polyalthia fragrans
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Family:
ANNONACEAE
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Citation: Polyalthia fragrans (Dalz.) Bedd., Fl. Sylv. t. 74. 1871; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 1: 63. 1872; Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 16(11). 1915; Mohanan, Fl. Quilon Dist. 63. 1984; Vajr., Fl. Palghat Dist. 48. 1990; Subram., Fl. Thenmala Div. 3. 1995; Debika Mitra in B. D. Sharma et al., Fl. India 1: 271. 1993; Sasidh. & Sivar., Fl. Pl. Thrissur For. 33. 1996; Sivar. & Mathew, Fl. Nilambur 41. 1997; Sasidh., Fl. Periyar Tiger Reserve 9. 1998; Sasidh., Fl. Parambikulam WLS 5. 2002; Mohanan & Sivad., Fl. Agasthyamala 61. 2002; Anil Kumar et al., Fl. Pathanamthitta 48. 2005; M. Mohanan in P. Daniel, Fl. Kerala 1: 164. 2005; Ratheesh Narayanan, Fl. Stud. Wayanad Dist. 102. 2009.
Guatteria fragrans Dalz. in Hook.'s J. Bot. Kew Gard. Misc. 3: 200. 1851.
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Malayalam Name(s):
Chella, Kodangi, Pullarei, Nedunar, Perumaram
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Tamil name(s):
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English name(s):
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Description:
Tall trees, to 30 m; bole straight, buttressed; bark, 10-12 mm thick, surface blackish-grey, mottled with white, smooth, lenticellate; branches horizontal, spreading; young branches tomentose. Leaves simple, alternate, distichous, 9-27 x 3-12 cm, elliptic to oblong-lanceolate, apex acute to shortly acuminate, base acute, obtuse or rounded, margin entire, glabrous and shiny above, slightly pubescent on the costae and veins beneath; lateral veins 16-21 pairs, close, prominent beneath, intercostae subscalariform; petiole 10-15 mm long, stout, grooved above, glabrous. Flowers bisexual, greenish-yellow, fragrant, in few flowered cymes from the axils of fallen leaves or on tubercles. Sepals 3, orbicular, 4 x 3 mm, pubescent. Petals 6 (3+3), subequal, linear-lanceolate, tomentose. Stamens numerous, cuneate, connectives concealing the anther cells, anther cells remote; carpels many, oblong-ovoid, slightly curved, stipitate, strigose, stigma broad, slightly bifid, blunt, ovules basal and ascending. Fruit aggregate of berries; berry 3-5, 1.5-2 cm, obliquely ellipsoid to broadly ovoid, blunt, hoary puberulous, ash coloured; seed one, orbicular, ovoid.
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Habit:
Tree
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Flowering & Fruiting:
September-January
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District(s):
Thiruvananthapuram, Palakkad, Kollam, Idukki, Pathanamthitta, Malappuram, Thrissur, Wayanad, Kannur
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Medicinal:
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Habitat:
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):
Yellow
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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:
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Altitude:
500-1200
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Localities:
Peechi, Vazhachal, Koruthode, Nadugani ghats, Orukomban, Angamoozhy, Cherunelli estate area, Nelluyampathy forests, Vazhikadavu, Thenmalai, Athirumala
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