Canthium dicoccum (Gaertn.) Teys. & Binn. var. lanceolata Arn. - RUBIACEAE

Synonym : Canthium lanceolatum Arn.; Plectronia didyma (Gaertn. f.) Kurz var. lanceolata (Wt.) Gamble; Psydrax dicoccos Gaertn. var. lanceolata (Arn.) Ridsd.

Vernacular names : Tamil: Nallamanthanam

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Botanical descriptions Ecology Distribution Literature

Botanical descriptions :

Habit : Trees ca. 10 m tall.
Branchlets : Young branchlets subterete, glabrous.
Leaves : Leaves simple, opposite, decussate; stipule interpetiolar, caducous and leaving scar; petiole 0.5 cm long, canaliculate, glabrous; lamina 6-8 x 2-3.5 cm, narrow elliptic to elliptic - lanceolate, apex acuminate, base attenuate - decurrent, margin entire, shining above, glabrous beneath; midrib raised above; secondary nerves ca. 4 pairs; tertiary obscure.
Flowers : Inflorescence axillary umbels; flowers greenish-white; pedicel ca. 0.5 cm long.
Fruit& seed : Drupe; seeds 2.

Ecology :

Understorey trees in evergreen forests ca. 900 m.

Distribution :

Endemic to the Western_Ghats - Agasthyamalai and Varshanad hills in South Sahyadri.

Literature :

Bull. Bot. Surv. India 3: 107. 1961; Gamble, Fl. Madras 2: 625. 1993 (re. ed); Sasidharan, Biodiversity documentation for Kerala- Flowering Plants, part 6: 233. 2004.

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