Capparis brevispina

Capparis brevispina DC., Prodr. 1: 246 1824. (Syn: Capparis brevispina Wight & Arn.; Capparis wallichiana Wight & Arn.);

As per efi thread :

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AR13,2010 Capparis sp. :  Attachments (4).  9 posts by 6 authors.

From Flowers of India.net the flower seems to fit the description for Capparis rheedi but it is mentioned there that C. rheedi is endemic to Western Ghats. The fruit is as shown and birds were found to feed on it ( tastes sweet like custard apple and packing is similar). Experts’ comments sought. Thanks

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…. most probably Capparis rheedii

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Capparis rheedi or commonly Rheed’s Capper

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C. rheedei is a plant of evergreen forest. Flowers axillary, thorns straight, upper petals with a yellow/purple blotch is C. brevispina DC. I am seeing pictures for the first time.

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I just glanced through the message posted by … on Capparis sps. It has been identified by many members of the group as C.rheedii and supposed to be endemic to western ghats. If this plant is endemic to the w.ghats it should have been included in the Gamble Flora of Madras Presidency, which includes plants from Western ghats as well, either in the same name or as a synonym. But I donot find any such plant name in the Gamble flora. Furthermore, the experts who have identified it as C.rheedii have not given the synonyms, not found even in the flowers of India. The limited descriptions provided by …, when checked, roughly tallies with Capparis brevispina described in Gamble flora. But this is not a confirmation as the full description of the plant is not available.
Looking forward for further comments by the experts as to (a) why C.rheedii is not mentioned in the Gamble flora or (b) Whether C. brevispina has been identified as C.rheedii or (c) C.rheedii is a new inlcusion to Capparis group

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I am forwarding the last mail I received from … on the Capparis sp. From the details given it seems to fit Capparis brevispina with the obvious feature being large fruit size

I am providing the data available in Gamble flora , vol. 1 pp31 and 32.
key
Mature branches leafless: –
thorns straight; flowers under 1 in. across, red, fruit globose red…………………... aphylla

Mature branches leafy:-
Flowers solitary or nearly so:-
Ovary glabrous, grooved, flowers 2.5 – 3 in, across:-
Thorns hooked , leaves pubescent beneath; flowers white; fruit slightly granular, ablong ………….. grandiflora.
Thorns straight; leaves glabrous; flowers red; fruit rugose, globular……………………………….. stylosa.
Ovary tomentose, flowers white tinged with yellow:-
Flowers 1.5 to- 2 in. across:-
Pedicel not less than 1/2 the gynophore :-
Berry ovoid; leaves 1.5 – 2.5in. long……. brevispina
Berry fusiform, narrowed into the gynophore; leaves 3-5 in. long……………………………...fusifera
Pedicels 5 times shorter than the gynophore;  Berry .7 in. across, black ………………….alacifolia
Flowers 4-5 in across; thorns minute or 0…………....heyneana

Flowers in racemes, umbels , corymbs or panicles:-
key provided for 11 species. I am not typing the details as they are not relevant for the present species.
C.brevispina :- Dry forest tracts of N.Circars, Nellore, Salem and Tinnevelly , usual near the coast.
A handsome shrub with conspicuous flowers
I hope the details are sufficient.

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Capparis rheedii: I just glanced through the message posted by …on Capparis sps. It has been identified by many members of the group as C.rheedii and supposed to be endemic to western ghats. If this plant is endemic to the w.ghats it should have been included in the Gamble Flora of Madras Presidency, which includes plants from Western ghats as well, either in the same name or as a synonym. But I donot find any such plant name in the Gamble flora. Furthermore, the experts who have identified it as C.rheedii have not given the synonyms, not found even in the flowers of India. The limited descriptions provided by…, when checked, roughly tallies with Capparis brevispina described in Gamble flora.  But this is not a  confirmation as the full description of the plant is not available.

Looking forward for further comments by the experts as to (a) why C.rheedii is not mentioned in the Gamble flora or (b) Whether C. brevispina has been identified as C.rheedii or  (c) C.rheedii is a new inlcusion to Capparis group

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– Capparis rheedii is mentioned in Gamble flora as C.heyneana, according to T S Nayar (2006) and N Sasidharan (2004). It has one more synonym C. baducca. They have mentioned C. brevispina as a separate species with a synonym C.zeylanica.

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Capparis in Jijamata Udyan: Capparis once again in the focus. Large shrub or small tree 2 m tall. Leaves 3-6 cm, elliptic, acute, cuneate; petioles 3 mm. Flowers axillary, 3-5 cm. Fruits not seen.

Flowering in Jijamata Udyan, Mumbai on 10 Feb. 2011. ID leads to C. brevispina DC. as per Flora of Maharashtra BSI. Pls validate.

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– So far I was thinking the plant (same as the picture posted by …, and … pics in flickr), which i saw in TDEF along east coast as C. rheedii. When Giby said ‘it is endemic to W.Ghats’, i realized there is something wrong with my id. My plant can not be C.rheedii then. Now I verified with the Floras by Gamble and Matthew. The descriptions (as well as distribution) match well with C. brevispina, as also identified by …

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– Plant around Mumbai is C. zeylanica L. (syn C. horrida L. f.) whereas plant syn. of C. brevispina DC. is C. zeylanica sensu Hook. f. & Thoms. Yes, it can be confusing unless you refer to the floras. Plant in this thread differs from C. rheedei DC. in respect of leaves smaller, flowers smaller, petals narrower and not pale blue and the coloured patch on petals turning purple before fading. No fruits seen to differenciate.

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– Thank you .. for the discussion and pointing out the fact why it can be brevispina not rheedii. Now I too think that it is C.brevispina.

In C. rheedii, according to Flora of British India and Gamble, Flowers are 4.5 inches diameter whereas, in brevispina, flowers are 1.5-2 inches in diameter. Further, 2 lower petals are yellowish, changing to red-brown in C.brevisina but in C.rheedii, 2 lower petals close together with a yellow spot.

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– The intention of posting a plant seen in a garden is to ascertain the ID and to trace its origin. I have not come accross this plant in Maharashtra though it is reported in the BSI flora of Maharashtra. I would be keen to know if anyone on the group (besides .. in Eastern ghats) has seen the plant in wild habitat.

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– .. Every one is saying Capparis rheedii except … who is using Capparis rheedei. Logically .. sir is right as, according to latin, any person’s name if transformed into species epithet, if it ends with a vowel, then it cant have double “i” and hence it should be “rheedei” and not “rheedii”.
On IPNI it is given as Capparis rheedei!
But when I looked into the protologue, it says, Capparis rheedii, which is logically incorrect, but taxonomically it has to be accepted.

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Capparis brevispina:  Sharing few pics of Capparis brevispina from Veer Jijamata udyan, Mumbai.
Family: Capparaceae
Date/Time: 14-04-2012 / 10:20AM
Plant Habit: Shrub
Habitat: Cultivated, Garden.

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Capparis brevispina DC.
at Veermata Jeejabai Bhosale Udyan on 23 MAR 08  

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Capparaceae and Cleomaceae Fortnight: Capparis brevispina from Mumbai :::: PKA9:: :  Attachments (4). 4 posts by 4 authors.

Capparis brevispina from Veer Jijamata udyan, Mumbai.
Family: Capparaceae
Date/Time: 14-04-2012 / 10:20AM
Plant Habit: Shrub
Habitat: Cultivated, Garden.

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Caper Sp (Looks like Rheed caper) from Jijamata Udyan, Mumbai

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It may be Capparis brevispina

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Agree with … Capparis brevispina DC.

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Capparis brevispina DC, : 1 post by 1 author. 2 images.

Fruiting twig from Thirukalukundram area of Kancheepuram dt, Tamil nadu observed 10 days back. (Sept.’16)

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200717BHAR1 : 5 posts by 2 authors. Attachments (1)

Found in Vandalur -Perungalathur Hills. (Its a reserved forest.)

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Pl. check comparative images at genera page in efloraofindia (efi) site at Capparis

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Capparis brevispina– Confirmed

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01082017BHAR2 : 7 posts by 3 authors. Attachments (2)

Found in Vandalur forest. Chennai.
Shrub.
A lot of insects are feeding on the fruit.
Fungi formed of over ripened fruit.
Lot of seeds inside the fruit.
The structure of fruit is not attractive for me.

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Any gall?

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Check for Capparaceae

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The fruit matches with capparis brevisipina.

Proof:
http://www.plantekey.com/plants/capparaceae/capparis-brevispina

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Fwd: Capparis brevispina DC.? : 2 posts by 1 author. Attachments (3)

Can you please identify this species from these three images?

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Appears close as per images at

/species/a—l/c/capparaceae/capparis/capparis-brevispina

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Capparis brevispina : 2 posts by 2 authors. Attachments (2)

Found in Puthupattu near Pondicherry.

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MS/ID/MAR/ 2021/2 – ID of the plant.
6 images.

I guess correct Capparis brevispina !

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References: