Alniphyllum fortunei (Hemsley) Makino - STYRACACEAE

Basionym : Halesia fortunei Hemsley

Synonym : Alniphyllum buddleiifolium Hu & Cheng
Alniphyllum hainanense Hayata
Alniphyllum pterospermum Matsum.
Alniphyllum macranthum Perkins
Alniphyllum fauriei Perkins
Alniphyllum megaphyllum Hemsley & E.H. Wilson.

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Botanical descriptions Habitat and ecology Distribution

Botanical descriptions :

Diagnostic characters : Deciduous trees, with branch scars on the trunk. Exudate resinous. Leaves clustered at the end of the branches, with stellate hairs on both sides, margins glandular dentate. Flowers white. Fruit a capsule, seeds winged.
Habit : Small to medium- sized deciduous tree, up to 25 m tall. Branches ascending to main trunk. Wood pale yellow or white.
Trunk & bark : Trunk straight, cylindrical, with branch scars along the trunk. Bark smooth, slightly fissured, lenticelled, brown to grey-brown, inner bark red.
Branches and branchlets or twigs : Twigs terete, brownish to dark brown, young shoots pubescent with reddish stellate hairs, becoming glabrous.
Exudates : Resinous.
Leaves : Simple leaves alternate and spiral, clustered at the end of the twig, 8-13 x 4-6 cm, obovate or broadly ovate to obovate-oblong, apex rounded or shortly acuminate, attenuate at base, margin dentate with glands, blade membranous when young becoming papery or coriaceous when mature, glabrescent with stellate hairs on both side, blackish drying.
Midrib canaliculated above, primary vein single, secondary veins oblique to the midrib, widely parallel, tertiary veins reticulate. Petiole glabrescent with fawn stellate hairs.
Stipules absent.
Inflorescences or flowers : Flowers terminal or axillary, grouped in panicle or condensed racemes, all parts covered by fawn stellate hairs.
Fruits : Fruit is a capsule, 1-2.5 by 0.6 -1.2 cm, dark brown.
Seeds : Seeds numerous, winged, orange.

Habitat and ecology :

In open, mixed forests and in old secondary forests from 400 to 2200 m altitude.
Flowering from April to July, fruiting from August to October.

Distribution :

China (southern), Burma (Myanmar), India, Vietnam (northern and southern) and Laos ( northern and central : Khammouane province).

Remark/notes/uses :
As soft wood, timber is used for agriculture tools.

Specimens studied :
BT 324 and BT 363 (Herbarium of Faculty of Sciences-NUoL, NHN-Leiden and CIRAD-Montpellier).

Literature :
B. Svengsuksa & J.E. Vidal. 1992. Styracaceae. Flore du Cambodge, Laos et Vietnam, No 26. Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle.
Dung, Vu Van. 1996. Vietnam Forest Trees. Agriculture Publishing House, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Hwang Shu-mei & James Grimes. 2000. Flora of China, Vol. 15. Missouri Botanical Garden Press (St.Louis).

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