Aphananthe cuspidata

Aphananthe cuspidata (Blume) Planch., Prodr. 17: 209 1873. (Syn: Aphananthe lissophylla Gagnep.; Aphananthe lucida (Kurz) J.-F.Leroy; Aphananthe yunnanensis (Hu) Grudz.; Celtis reticulata Hook.f. & Thomson ex Planch. [Illegitimate]; Cyclostemon cuspidatus Blume; Galumpita cuspidata Blume; Gironniera curranii Merr.; Gironniera cuspidata (Blume) Kurz; Gironniera lucida Kurz; Gironniera nitida Benth.; Gironniera reticulata Thwaites; Gironniera thompsonii King ex A.M.Cowan & Cowan; Gironniera yunnanensis Hu; Helminthospermum glabrescens Thwaites ex Planch.);

Tamil: Koditani Malayalam: Bhuthiyunarthi, Thondupoliyan, Kattupilli

Habit- Buttressed trees, up to 30 m tall.

Trunk\bark- Bark brown, exfoliating in to rectangular flakes; blaze reddish.

Branchlets- Branchlets subterete, appresedly minute pubescent when young, later glabrous.

Leaves- Leaves simple, alternate, distichous; petiole 0.6-1.2 cm long, canaliculate above, glabrous; lamina 10-17.5 x 3-7 cm, ovate-oblong or elliptic-lanceolate, apex cuspidate to caudate-acuminate, base rounded to sltightly attenuate, margin entire (serrate towards apex in saplings), coriaceous, dark green and shining above; midrib slightly canaliculate above; secondary nerves 8-14 pairs, ascendingly curved; tertiary nerves reticulo-percurrent.

Flowers- Flowers unisexual, subsessile; male flowers in axillary cymes; female flowers solitary.

Fruit& seed- Drupe, ovoid, beaked, glabrous; seed one.

Canopy trees in wet evergreen forests between 300 and 1000 m.

India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Indochina; in the Western Ghats- Occassional in 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)