Help in Identification : 16 posts by 3 authors. Attachments (1)
Request your kind help in identifying a small? tree. The tree was located in an unreachable place in a gorge, hence only have images from far. Two fruits? or flower buds? are seen which look unusual and may aid in identification.
Photographed in Pynursla area, East Khasi Hills, Meghalaya in December 2017 at about 1500 m asl.
Please compare with Excoecaria oppositifolia Griff. (Euphorbiaceae). The image is of fruit of Mesua ferrea. It is known as NAHOR in Asaam. When I was at Tezpur I saw this tree in almost every house there. During spring it blooms profusely and the flowers are sweet scented. Attaching an image of flowers of the same tree taken at Cooch Behar.
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Thanks … Even I had suspected it to be so. The leaves and phyllotaxy definitely match. But Mesua ferrea fruits have two characters different from this one: 1. The fruits lack the persistent thick calyx? as seen clearly in both fruits (Mesua has smaller green coloured calyx which does not encase the fruit so tightly)
2. The fruits tend to point downwards, whereas in this specimen the fruits are clearly pointing upwards.
Attaching a fruit of what I had thought of as Mesua ferrea..
Would appreciate any comments on both issues.
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Please tell me what is this? Attachments (1)
Please also look at the images of the syntype materials of E. oppositifolia available in the website of the Kew Herbarium. I think it will be Melodinus khasianus or Melodinus monogynus (Apocynaceae). Thank you … However the image which I uploaded here was recently received from Dr. N. Balachandran, French Institute of Pondicherry for identification.
This was shot in Arunachal Pradesh.
I think this is (uploaded by me) Excoecaria oppositifolia, differing from E. crenulata in the much larger fruits, being 4-6 cm in diameter.
Ok sir, Then you can see the genus Mesua [Clusiaceae or Calophyllaceae], specially M. ferrea or M. assamica. Actually it is sometimes difficult to identify from photo only.
Could you decide on the final I’d? Not yet. Some of the choices don’t seem to match to my satisfaction. Pl. check with high resolution herbarium specimen of Melodinus monogynus Roxb. (as suggested by …) at gbif at the link below:
Melodinus is a climber which I know fairly well. I have encountered Melodinus a few times rather closely. Its fruits are completely different-somewhat like a passion fruit. This is definitely not Melodinus.
This could be some Clusiaceae member? Somewhat related to Mesua or Kaeya….
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