Mitrephora heyneana

Mitrephora heyneana (Hook. f. & Thomson) Thwaites, Enum. Pl. Zeyl. 8 1858. (syn: Kinginda heyneana (Hook. f. & Thomson) Kuntze; Orophea heyneana Hook. f. & Thomson);

Habit- Small trees, ca.12 m tall.

Branches and Branchlets- Branchlets slender, terete, glabrous.

Leaves- Leaves simple, alternate, distichous; petiole 0.4-0.6 cm long, canaliculate, glabrous; lamina 4-10 x 2-3.8 cm, narrow ovate to elliptic-ovate, apex obtusely acute or narrowly acuminate with blunt tip, base acute to cuneate, sometimes rounded, subcoriaceous, glabrous, shining, midrib flat above; secondary nerves 6-8 pairs, slender, moderately ascending; tertiary and higher order nerves finely reticulate.

Inflorescence / Flower- Flowers solitary or 2-3 in leaf opposed cymes, yellowish with pink tinge; pedicels 0.3-0.5 cm.

Fruit and Seed- Clustered 1-3 seeded berries, subsessile, globose or cylindric with constriction between seeds, yellow tomentose.

Understorey tree in dry evergreen forests up to 800 m.

Western Ghats (eastern slopes of Agasthyamalai, Varushanad Hills, Palani and Nilgiris) and Sri Lanka.

(Attributions- B. R. Ramesh, N. Ayyappan, Pierre Grard, Juliana Prosperi, S. Aravajy, Jean Pierre Pascal, The Biotik Team, French Institute of Pondicherry from India Biodiversity Portal)

Images by Muthu Karthick at Megamalai wls, Theni dist., TN (Id by Navendu Page) (Inserted by J.M.Garg) (For more photos click on the links)