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Saprosma fragrans
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Family:
RUBIACEAE
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Citation: Saprosma fragrans Bedd., For. Man, Bot. 134/11. 1872; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 3: 193. 1880; Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 649(458). 1921; Manilal, Fl. Silent Valley 143. 1988; Ramach. & V.J. Nair, Fl. Cannanore Dist. 234. 1988; Vajr., Fl. Palghat Dist. 243. 1990; Gangop., Journ. Econ. Tax. Bot. 15: 86. 1991; Sasidh. et al., Bot. Stud. Med. Pl. Kerala 25. 1996; Sivar. & Mathew, Fl. Nilambur 349. 1997; Pradeep, Fl. Vellarimala 83. 2000; Mohanan & Sivad., Fl. Agasthyamala 358. 2002; Ratheesh Narayanan, Fl. Stud. Wayanad Dist. 447. 2009.
Serissa fragrans Bedd., Ic. t. 14. 1868-1874.
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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:
Shubs 3-4 m high; branchlets dichotomous, compressed when young, terete in age, glabrous, smooth or rough. Leaves simple,opposite, 4-14 x 2-4 cm, elliptic oblong, long acuminate at apex, slightly unequally acute at base, entire margin incurved, thin, membranous, glabrous, green or pale when dry; midvein slender, channelled above, terete beneath; lateral nerves 5-6 on either side, subopposite, arcuate, slender, domatia present at axils; nervules reticulate, very inconspicuous; petioles 2-5 mm long, very slender; stipules 2-3 x 2-2.5 mm, ovate-oblong, 2 or 3-toothed, teeth long acuminate, connate, glabrous above, bristly at base within. Inflorescence axillary or terminal cymes, few flowered, trichotomous; bracts, bracteoles minute, ovate lanceolate. Flowers infundibuliform, 8-10 mm long, fragrant, white; pedicels up to 1 mm long, slender, glabrous. Corolla tube 5-6 mm long, wider above, glabrous, lobes 2-2.5 mm long, ovate, minutely inflexed at apex, glabrous above, pubescent beneath. Disc ca 1 mm across, ovoid, smooth. Stamens included; filaments minute, adnate below throat; anthers ovate-oblong. Ovary ca 0.5 mm long; styles 2-3 mm long, filiform, glabrous, lobes ca 0.5 mm long, spreading, ovate, acute as apex, glabrous. Drupes short stalked, ca 6 x 5 mm, ovoid, pericarp thin, glabrous; seed solitary, ellipsoid.
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Habit:
Shrub
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Flowering & Fruiting:
February-April
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District(s):
Kozhikkode, Malappuram, Kannur, Palakkad, Thiruvananthapuram, Wayanad
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Medicinal:
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Habitat:
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:
Vulnerable (VU)
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Altitude:
150-1350
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Localities:
Aruvanpara, Kummattanthode, Panoth, Thalichola, Kunda hills, Masthakappara, Amburi
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