Sphenodesme involucrata var. paniculata

Sphenodesme involucrata var. paniculata (C.B.Clarke) Munir, Gard. Bull. Singapore 21: 338 1966. (syn: Sphenodesme paniculata C.B.Clarke);
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S. India, Myanmar as per POWO;
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Common name: Panicled Varshiki • Malayalam: Arambodal, Njarambodal • Sanskrit: Varshiki • Tamil: Mazhamulla
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A large scandent shrub or woody climber. Branches and branchlets subterete or obtusely quadrangular, young parts rusty tomentose or stellate pubescent, glabrous when mature. Leaves simple, opposite, elliptic or ovate, 7-18 × 4-8 cm, base rounded or obtuse, margin entire or very faintly serrate, apex obtuse, coriaceous, chartaceous, dark green, glabrous above and pubescent beneath, lateral veins 4-6 on either side of the midrib, ascending obscure, impressed above, slightly prominent beneath, reticulate veinlets, petiole slender, glabrous, canaliculated, about 0.8-1.5 cm long. Inflorescence terminal panicles composed of 6–12 opposite dichotomously branched cymes, about 15-30 x 5-15 cm across, peduncle, slender, obtusely quadrangular, about 3-6 cm long, involucral bracts 6, leaflike or foliaceous, spathulate, emarginate in fruit, membranous and veined. Flowers bisexual, fragrant, many, cream colored sessile in involucrate heads. Calyx cupular or subcampanulate, 5 toothed, teeth ovate, acute, densely stellate-tomentose, about 6 mm long, corolla infundibular, 5-6 lobed, white, tomentose, obovate to oblong, apex obtuse, lower lip 3 lobed, lobes subequal, obovate, apex obtuse, corolla tube narrow, about 2 x 1.3 mm across, densely pubescent at throat, glabrous outside. Stamens 5-6, included, filaments filiform, glabrous, anthers globose, imperfectly 2-celled, Ovary bicarpellary, 4 lobed, obovoid, hairy, style slender, stigma bilobed. Fruit carcerulus, obovoid, glabrous, enclosed by a persistant calyx, 12 seeded.
Evergreen forests.
Local Distribution: Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu. Global Distribution: Asia: India.
(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 as per India Biodiversity Portal)
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(25/Apr/2021 ART 1) ID help for Sphenodesme sp.: 11 images.
Date: 2021/April24

Location: Palani, Tamil Nadu
Can you please help in identifying the species?
(The photos are of two different plants from the same area.)
The photos seem to match Sphenodesme sp. 060115-4894 | Central Thailand: Prachinburi … | Flickr, where detailed ID effort has been documented in the image description, but the species is not concluded.
(PDF) A comprehensive list of the lianas of the Western Ghats of India – Version 2 (researchgate.net) lists only one species under Sphenodesme: S. involucrata var. paniculata.
So is this S. involucrata var. paniculata?

Thanks, …, for the wonderful and detailed presentation. I agree with your id.

 

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References: POWO  Catalogue of Life  The Plant List Ver.1.1  WCSP  IPNI  GBIF (High resolution specimens) High resolution specimen  Flora of China (Sphenodesme involucrata (Presl) Robinson) FOC illustration (Sphenodesme involucrata (Presl) Robinson) Flora of peninsular India  Flowers of India  India Biodiversity Portal  FRLHT