Pseudocaryopteris paniculata

Pseudocaryopteris paniculata (C.B.Clarke) P.D.Cantino, Syst. Bot. 23: 381 1998 publ. 1999. (syn: Callicarpa martini H.Lév.; Caryopteris paniculata C.B.Clarke; Clerodendrum gratum Kurz [Illegitimate]);

Pakistan to S. China (As per WCSP);

Shrub about 5-12 ft tall. Branchlets slender, terete, pubescent and quadrangular. Leaves opposite, ovate-obtuse or broadly lanceolate, 4-16 x 3-7 cm across, base obtuse or rounded, margin slightly serrate, apex acuminate, chartaceous, slightly pubescent above, lighter densely pubescent beneath, lateral veins 6-10 on either side of the midrib, margin arcuate, petiole pubescent, canaliculated, 0.4-0.8 cm long, exstipulate. Inflorescence panicle axillary, subsessile, distinctly panicled, rachis distinct, often 20-60 fid, pubescent or glabrate. Flowers bisexual, zygomorphic, pubescent, shortly pedicellate, about 2-4 mm long, calyx cupular, deeply 5 toothed, teeth subulate, scarsely accresent in fruit, glandular pubescent, corolla infundibular, 2 lipped, 5 lobed, purple or violet, 4 upper lobes, 1 larger lower lobe, stamens 4, didynamous, exserted, style filiform, anthers divergent at base, ovary imperfectly 4 lobed, 4 loculed, style filiform shortly 2-fid, Fruit globose, capsular, about 2-3 mm in diameter, with 4 nutlets, seeds slightly winged pyrenes.

Caryopteris species flowers are bisexual, i.e., with functional male (androecium) and female (gynoecium), including stamens, carpels and ovary. Pollination is entomophilous i.e., by insects. Flowering/Fruiting: December-May.

Susceptible to insect pests and moulds.

Evergreen forests, shady roadsides and bamboo forests at an altitude up to 4000 ft.

Local Distribution: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal.

Global Distribution: Asia: Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand.

(Attributions- Ganeshaiah, K. N., UAS, Bangalore, India. Kailash, B. R., UAS & ATREE, Bangalore, India. Indian Bioresource Information Network (IBIN), Department of Biotechnology, New Delhi, India.)