Gordonia obtusa Wall. ex Wt. & Arn. - THEACEAE

Synonym : Gordonia obtusifolia Wt.

Vernacular names : Malayalam: Atangi, Karikkova, Kattukarana, OlaKannada: Nagatta

English   Kannada   Tamil   

Botanical descriptions Ecology Distribution Literature

Botanical descriptions :

Habit : Trees up to 10 m tall.
Trunk\bark : Bark greyish, smooth; blaze brownish.
Branchlets : Branchlets subterete, glabrescent.
Leaves : Leaves simple, alternate, spiral; petiole 0.2-1 cm long, planoconvex in cross section, glabrescent; lamina 5-10.5 x 1.5-7 cm, elliptic to elliptic-oblong, apex obtuse or acute to shortly acuminate with retuse tip, base cuneate, margin serrate, pubescent when young at least on midrib beneath, coriaceous, dark green and shining above, pale beneath; midrib slightly canaliculate above; secondary_nerves 8-14 pairs, not raised, looped near margin; tertiary_nerves obscure or broadly reticulate if visible.
Flowers : Flowers large, solitary, white, terminal or axillary at twig ends; pedicel 0.2-0.5 cm long.
Fruit& seed : Capsule, loculicidal, oblong, woody, up to 3 cm long, 5-valved; seeds many, with white wings at one end.

Ecology :

Along margin of medium and high elevation evergreen forests between 800 and 1900 m.

Distribution :

Endemic to the Western_Ghats- South Sahyadri and Central Sahyadri (Nilgiris, Wayanad and Coorg Region).

Literature :

Wight & Arn., Prodr. 87. 1834; Gamble, Fl. Madras 1: 79. 1997 (re. ed); Sasidharan, Biodiversity documentation for Kerala- Flowering Plants, part 6: 43. 2004; Saldanha, Fl. Karnataka 1: 198.1984; Cook, Fl. Bombay 1: 83. 1903; Almeida, Fl. Maharashtra 1:9.

Top of the Page