Alphonsea lutea

Alphonsea lutea (Roxb.) Hook.f. & Thomson, Fl. Ind. 1: 153 1855. (syn: Bocagea lutea Baill.; Uvaria lutea Roxb.; Uvaria russelii Wall. (Unresolved));
India; Sri Lanka (as per GRIN)

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

Seeds dispersed by autochory i.e., gravitational dispersal, zoochory i.e., dispersal by birds or animals.
Trees about 10-20 m tall. Bark dark brown, corky, fissured and fibrous, branchlets minutely rufous-tomentose. Leaves simple, alternate, ovate-oblong to oblong-elliptic, 8-14 x 3-6.5 cm across, base obtuse or rounded, margin entire, apex shallow acuminate or acute, coriaceous, dark green, glabrous above, sparsely minutely pubescent beneath, lateral veins 7-11 on either side of the midrib, almost parallel, impressed above and beneath, reticulate veinlets, petiole pubescent when young, light pale green, about 5-8 mm long. Inflorescence very short raceme. Flowers bisexual, in dense fascicles, leaf opposed, subcapitate, about 1.2-1.7 cm across, pedicels densely brown tomentose, about 5-7 mm long, bracts very small. Sepals 3, connate into a 3 angled shallow cup, tomentose outside and glabrous inside, about 2-3 mm long. Petals 6, subequal, ovate, apex acute, thick, tomentose outside, glabrous inside, about 10 x 5 mm across, reflexed at the tips. Stamens many, about 1.5 mm long, connectives broad and blunt. Carpels few oblong, strigose, about 2.5 mm long, stigma sessile, capitates. Ripe carpels, broadly globose or ovoid, obtuse at both ends, about 1.5 cm long, puberulous, stalk stout, about about 0.4-0.8 cm long, Seeds 3-6 in 2 rows, oval-oblong, pointed.
Susceptible to insect pests.
Mixed forests.
Local Distribution: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu.
Global Distribution: Asia: India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka.
(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.    
from India Biodiversity Portal)           



Images by Muthu Karthick (Id suggestion by Surajit Koley) (Inserted by J.M.Garg) (For more photos click on the links)

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Megamalai :: tree for identification :: 161113MK003 : Attachments (5).  7 posts by 6 authors.

Please help me in identifying the tree of height 8 metres. Is this an Aglaia sp. of Meliaceae?
Leaf: 8 cm long
Place: Vellimalai RF, Theni dist., TN
Alt.: 900 m asl
Habitat: semi-evergreen forests (also in drier parts)
Date: 03 October 2013

It should be a member of Annonaceae (owing to the aggregate fruits and simple, alternate leaves). May be Uvaria sp.?

… is right. Leaf opposed cyme, an annonaceae member. Please check Alphonsea lutea or A. maderaspatna

Yes, this tree seems to belong to Annonaceae. But I am unable to fix is genus.

Its more likely to be a species of Mitrephora, my guess is Mitrephora heyneana

Thanks for the identification. This plant matches closely with that of Mitrephora heyneana of Annonaceae.

Leaves of your plant do not match with Mitrephora heyneana in the link as well as other photographs in the web. The tree seems to be a species of Uvaria.  There are many species of Uvaria.  Please check the details.

Comments

  1. Dr B.M. Ojha Article Author

    What is seed collection time, no of seeds per kg, germination %, period to germinate ?