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Polyalthia suberosa
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Family:
ANNONACEAE
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Citation: Polyalthia suberosa (Roxb.) Thw., Enum. Pl. Zeyl. 398. 1864; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 1: 65. 1872; Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 16(12). 1915; Mohanan, Fl. Quilon Dist. 64. 1984; Debika Mitra in B. D. Sharma et al., Fl. India 1: 278. 1993; M. Mohanan & Henry, Fl. Thiruvanthapuram 48. 1994; Mohanan & Sivad., Fl. Agasthyamala 62. 2002; Anil Kumar et al., Fl. Pathanamthitta 48. 2005; M. Mohanan in P. Daniel, Fl. Kerala 1: 168. 2005.
Uvaria suberosa Roxb., Pl. Corom. t. 34. 1795.
Guatteria suberosa (Roxb.) Dunal, Monogr. Anonac. 128. 1817.
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Malayalam Name(s):
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Tamil name(s):
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English name(s):
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Description:
Small trees, 4-6 m tall, branching from base; bark fissured, corky, rough; young branches rufous tomentose. Leaves simple, alternate, distichous, estipulate; petiole 2-3 mm long, brown pubescent, slender; lamina 3-12 x 1-3.5 cm oblong, elliptic-oblong or oblong-lanceolate, base slightly narrowed, oblique or obtuse, apex obtuse or obtusely acute, margin entire, undulate, glabrous and shiny above, pubescent and pale beneath, submembranous; lateral veins 9-12 pairs, pinnate, faint; intercostae reticulate. Flowers bisexual, yellowish-green, mostly suffused with purple, solitary, rarely in pairs, extra-axillary, 8-10 mm long; pedicels slender, 1.5-2.5 cm long; sepals 3, spreading, ovate, acute, ca. 2 x 1 mm, pubescent outside, glabrous inside, petals 6 (3+3); outer petals ovate to oblong-lanceolate, acute, slightly reflexed, ca. 6 x 4-5 mm, thickly coriaceous, silky pubescent outside, glabrous inside; inner ones slightly longer; torus convex; stamens numerous, ca. 1 mm long, connectives slightly convex at top concealing the anther cells; carpels many, ca. 2 mm long, pubescent, ovule one, style oblong, stigma triangular, flat. Fruit aggregate of berries; fruitlets subglobose, purple ca. 5 mm across, puberulous, stalks slender, 0.5-1 cm long; seeds 1, globose, smooth.
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Habit:
Tree
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Flowering & Fruiting:
September-March
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District(s):
Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Thiruvananthapuram
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Medicinal:
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Habitat:
Sacred grooves in the plains
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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):
Green, 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:
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IUCN status:
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Altitude:
1000-1200
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Localities:
Adoor, Boneccord, Ponmudi, Athirumala
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