Scleropyrum pentandrum (Dennst.) Mabb. - SANTALACEAE

Basionym : Pothos pentandrus Dennst.

Synonym : Sphaerocarya wallichiana Wight & Arn.
Scleropyrum wallichianum Arn.
Sphaerocarya moschifera Blume
Pyrularia ceylanica A.DC.
Pyrularia wallichiana A.DC.
Scleropyrum mekongense Gagnep.
Scleropyrum wallichianum var. siamensis Lecomte
Scleropyrum wallichianum var. mekongense Lecomte
Scleropyrum ridleyi Gamble

English   Lao   

Botanical descriptions Habitat and ecology Distribution

Botanical descriptions :

Diagnostic characters : Parasitic trees, trunk and branches with spines. Leaves simple, alternate, characteristically yellow-green. Flowers bisexual in catkin-like fascicles. Fruit a drupe.
Habit : Small evergreen tree (parasitic) up to 20 m high, branches ascending or horizontally to the main trunk.
Trunk & bark : Bole straight with fascicle of sharp spines on trunk or branches. Bark deeply fissured while juvenile stem striate, light brown, inner bark light brown-cream.
Branches and branchlets or twigs : Twigs slightly flattened at leaf insertion and densely pubescent when young, becoming terete and glabrous when mature. Young twigs with spines.
Exudates : Exudate absent.
Leaves : Leaves simple alternate and spiral, 10- 20 x 2.5-9 cm, narrowly to broadly elliptic or ovate, apex acute, shortly acuminate, base attenuate, margin entire, blade leathered to coriaceous, upper surface shining, glabrous, under surface glabrescent along midrib.
Midrib canaliculated above, primary vein single, secondary veins oblique to the midrib, widely parallel and anastomosing at margin, tertiary veins obscure. Petiole pubescent.
Stipules absent.
Inflorescences or flowers : Flowers small, grouped in fascicle of catkins, cauliflorous, unisexual, male flower smelling unpleasant, shortly pedicelled while female flower sessile.
Fruits : Fruit is a drupe with pear shape or ovoid, 1.8-3.5 by 1.3-2.6 cm, stalked, green turning yellow when ripen. .
Seeds : Seed(s) 1-3., nearly globose.

Habitat and ecology :

Generally found in disturbed habitats on sandy soil, as well found in semi and dry evergreen forests, in open forest near stream and in lowland Dipterocarps forest, from 500 to 1000 m. Flowering in January to March, fruiting in August to October.

Distribution :

Cambodia, China (Southern and Hainan island), India, Thailand (Northern, Eastern, SouthEastern, SouthWestern, Peninsular) and Laos (Attapeu, Khammouane and Louangphrabang provinces).

Specimens studied :
BT 460, BT 776, BT 799 (Herbarium of Faculty of Sciences-NUoL, NHN-Leiden and CIRAD-Montpellier).

Literature :
Flore Générale de l’Indochine. 1915. Vol. 5, Fasc. 3. Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, Laboratoire de Phanérogamie, Paris, France.
Dung, Vu Van. 1996. Vietnam Forest Trees. Agriculture Publishing House, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Jill Macklin & John Parnell. 2005. Flora of Thailand, Vol. 9, part 1. The Forest Herbarium, Royal Forest Department, Bangkok, Thailand.

Top of the page