Myrsine wightiana

Myrsine wightiana Wall., Trans. Linn. Soc. London 17(1): 106 1834. (Syn: Myrsine capitellata var. grandiflora A. DC.; Myrsine capitellata var. lanceolata Clarke; Myrsine lepidocarpon Wight ex C. B. Cl.; Rapanea rubens Mez; Rapanea wightiana (Wall. ex DC.) Mez);

S-India, Sri Lanka as per Catalogue of life;

Trees, to 10 m high, branchlets slender, with prominent petiolar scars. Leaves simple, alternate, clustered towards the tip of branchlets; petiole to 10 mm long; lamina 7.5-8 x 1.5-3.5 cm, oblanceolate, base attenuate, apex acute, margin entire, recurved, glabrous, coriaceous, punctate; lateral nerves 6-8 pairs, obscure. Flowers polygamous, 4 mm across, in 5-8 flowered fascicles; pedicel to 1 mm long; bracts ovate; calyx tube 1 mm long; lobes 5, 0.1-0.15 cm long, cuneate, punctate, acute, ciliate; corolla lobes 5, 2-3 mm long, glandular hairy along the margin; stamens 5, sessile, basifixed; ovary superior, ovoid, 1-celled; style short; stigma slightly 2-lobed. Fruit a berry, 3 mm wide, subglobose, purple; seed single, globose.

Flowering and fruiting: January-June

Evergreen and shola forests

South India and Sri Lanka

(Attributions- Dr. N Sasidharan (Dr. B P Pal Fellow), Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi from India Biodiversity Portal)

Malayalam: Cheeramaram;