Gomphandra coriacea

Gomphandra coriacea Wight, Ill. Ind. Bot. 1: 103 1840. (syn: Platea coriacea (Wight) Thwaites; Stemonurus coriaceus (Wight) Miers; Stemonurus gardneri Miers; Stemonurus walkeri Miers);

Sri Lanka, S-India (Tamil Nadu, Kerala) as per Catalogue of Life;
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Habit- Trees up to 10 m tall.

Branches and Branchlets- Branchlets terete, glabrous.

Leaves- Leaves simple, alternate, distichous; petiole 0.6-1.4 cm long, canaliculate above, glabrous; lamina 5-11 x 2-4 cm variable in shape, elliptic to obovate, apex bluntly acuminate to obtuse, base acute to cuneate, margin entire or sometimes slightly revolute, coriaceous, glabrous, dull green when dry; midrib canaliculate above; secondary nerves ca. 4; tertiary nerves obscure.

Inflorescence / Flower- Flowers polygamodioecious, in short axillary or leaf opposed cymes, white.

Fruit and Seed- Drupe, cylindrical ellipsoid, to 1-1.5 cm; seeds 1.

Common canopy trees in high elevation evergreen forests (1400-2200 m) and occasional understorey trees in medium elevation evergreen forests (900-1400 m).

Western Ghats and Sri Lanka; in the Western Ghats- South and Central Sahyadris.

(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)
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FOR ID :: Dicots :: The Nilgiris :: Jan 30, 2026 · 4:56 PM IST: 5 images.

FOR ID ::
Dicots

The Nilgiris :: Jan 30, 2026 · 4:56 PM IST
Marappalam, about 1822 m asl

Gomphandra tetrandra (Wall.) Sleumer

I found one difference among the two high altitude species that are found in the Nilgiris; it may be decisive for changing our ID to Gomphandra coriacea Wight.

I found the difference in Digital Flora of Peninsular India by Herbarium JCB:

Gomphandra coriacea Wight – inflorescence is leaf opposed

Gomphandra tetrandra (Wall.) Sleumer – inflorescence is axillary

Also, some other facts from the internet:

Gomphandra coriacea Wight – fruiting seen often on older, “naked” parts of the twig.
Gomphandra tetrandra (Wall.) Sleumer – fruiting typically found among active, green leaves.
Thus I strongly feel that the posted plant is Gomphandra coriacea Wight

FOR ID :: Dicots :: The Nilgiris :: Jan 30, 2026 · 5:04 PM IST: 3 images.