Schefflera capitata

Schefflera capitata (Wight & Arn.) Harms, Nat. Pflanzenfam. 3(8): 36 1894. (syn: Brassaia capitata (Wight & Arn.) C.B.Clarke; Heptapleurum capitatum (Wight & Arn.) Seem.; Paratropia capitata Wight & Arn.);
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S. India as per POWO;
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Low much-branched trees. Leaves alternate, palmately compound; leaflets seven, their stalks 2 inches; ca 15 x 5 cm, coriaceous, glossy on the upper side, dull and light green on lower side; midrib very stout, brown; lateral neves slender, prominent on the upper side, the smaller reticulations distinct on the lower sides; leaf-base sheathing with a triangular intra-petiolar stipule, covering the axillary bud; petiole to 15 cm long. Inflorescens a terminal panicle up to 35 cm long, dark purple. Flowers in dense sessile heads of 6 or 7, at the ends of the stout branches of the panicle; heads 1.5-2.5 cm wide, of about ten flowers. Bracts concave, tomentose. Petals 6, valvate. Stamens longer than the petals abruptly bent inwards just below the anther; anther opening inwards. Ovary bluntly conical, continuous with the disc at the base; 6-celled, ovules one in each cell; styles fused in to a column. Fruits drupaceous, sub globose, 6-angled.
Flowering and fruiting: February-May
Evergreen forests
Southern Western Ghats
(Attributions- Dr. N Sasidharan (Dr. B P Pal Fellow), Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi as per India Biodiversity Portal)
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References:
POWO (Heptapleurum capitatum (Wight & Arn.) Seem.) Catalogue of Life  The Plant List Ver.1.1  WCSP  IPNI  GBIF (High resolution specimens) Flora of peninsular India  India Biodiversity Portal  IBIS Flora (Flora of British India) Biotik  Kerala plants
Updated on December 24, 2024

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