Maerua apetala

Maerua apetala (Spreng.) M. Jacobs, Blumea 12(2): 207 207 1964. (Syn: Capparis apetala Roth; Capparis linifolia Roxb.; Crateva apetala (Roth) Spreng.; Maerua linearis (DC.) Pax; Niebuhria apetala (Roth) Dunn; Niebuhria linearis DC.; Niebuhria linifolia Voigt);

India (Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu) as per Catalogue of Life;

Flora of Eastern Ghats: Hill Ranges of South East India, Volume 1 By T. Pullaiah, D. Muralidhar Rao, K. Sri Ramamurthy (Keys- Maerua oblongifolia (syn. of Capparis oblongifolia Forssk. & Maerua apetala & Description)

Flora of Guntur District: Andhra Pradesh, India (Keys- Maerua oblongifolia (syn. of Capparis oblongifolia Forssk. & Ma erua apetala & Description) (Maerua apetala (Roth) Jacobs syn. Capparis apetala Roth, Niebuhria linearis DC., N. apetala Dunn)

Tree up to 4m tall, petals are absent, leaves (1- 2) 3 – 5 foliolate, leaflets ovate, Inflorescence is terminal (not in corymb as in Crateva species), 5-20 flowered, flowers green or white with purple tinge.

Endemic to Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh found from sea level to 300m.

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Capparis sepiaria and Maerua apetala : Attachments (2). 2 posts by 2 authors.

I wish to share a very common thorny shrub of Capparis sepiaria and Maerua apetala

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ID please : 9 posts by 4 authors. Attachments (3)

Id please some capparis sp may be

Undavalli caves, Andhra pradesh 2015 May on hill lopes

Thank you sir for your approach regarding the plant identification. The plant pictures are identified as of Capparis roxburghii DC. of Capparaceae. It was first reported from Andhra Pradesh by Suryanarayana & Rao (1985) from Chitvel Reserve Forest of Kadapa district. (Ref.: Suryanarayana, B. and Rao, A.M. 1985. On the occurrence of Capparis roxburghii in Andhra Pradesh. Journal of Economic and Taxonomic Botany 7: 659-660).

It the plant is a shrub or small tree, leaves 3 foliate; flowers in corymbose racemes, and petals are absent , the gynophore elongates with fruit development it is Niebuhria apetala Dunn. syn. Maerua apetala common species in E.ghats.

Thanks very much all for id It looks more like Maerua apetala

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GI 010709 Tree for id : 11 posts by 4 authors. Attachments (3)

Please id the tree, belongs perhaps to family Capparaceae.
Location: Inside Vattakotai fort, located on the eastern coast of Kanyakumari. This solitary tree was growing in the centre of one of the ramparts of the fort. Probably planted as the fort looked very ‘pedicured and manicured’
Taken on 17th June. It was so windy that getting a sharp image was proving to be quite a task

it is a Crateva species

Thank you …
I went through the flora of the Tamilnadu Carnatic to find out the possible species.
According to the description available leaves seem to predominate for identifying species
As per the following description – 3-foliate, leaflets ovate;nerves 5 pairs (<7pairs), base oblique, margin entire and apex acuminate.This seem to be Crateva adansonii.
However amongst the description given for flowers the stamen number is given to be 20-25 which alone does not match for the plant i have photographed.
So can someone clarify whether i am right in presuming this to be Crateva adansonii?

No. Does not look like C. adansonii … are these tri-foliate leaves?

C. adansonii leaves resemble those of bael tree — dear to Lord Shiva.

I have some photos at http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=91314344@N00&q=Crateva+adansonii&m=text

The description given in the source I have quoted distinguished the species based on details of leaf. And the leaf I see in your photo stream of Crateva religiosa is different from the one i have photographed.
Further here is something to think over: (and get more confused at least i am)
According to Hook.f.&Thomson Fl.British India1: 172,(1872) C.religiosa var.roxburghii seem to share characterisitcs of C adansonii where as per some sources specially Gamble, Flroa of madras Presidency there is also a C roxburghii
According to Gamble C religiosa is different having caudate leaflets. Flora of Tamilnadu Carnatic describes a similar species as C magna.
The tree profile is quite different from the one i see in your photo stream as also the way the buds are arranged on the floral stalk.
So what Crateva sp. could this be? I am attaching another shot of the leaves.
PS Mavilangam is the name given to C adansonii acc to the Flora of the Tamilnadu Carnatic

Attachments (1)

I remember to have got confused reading various online literature describing disinct Crateva species:– . adansonii, . magna, . nurvula, . religiosa, . roxburghii and their subspecies and varieties.

I settled to C. religiosa — the leaves being soft and herbacious … and I am sure I too would be contributing to confusion if what I have, is going to be in fact some other species.

I have jumped to say no to what you have as Crateva only because I had not seen such form of tr-foliate leaf, and those conspicuous yellowish to green petals seem to be absent

I am almost tempted to say you may have a Capparis species; yet let us depend on … knowledge.

Please wait for other friends to comment …

for this species to be capparis it should have simple leaf. since this photograph shows trifoliate leaf it can be concluded as Crataeva species. since the number of stamens varies from 8-20 in genus crataeva, the plant in consideration fulfill this requirement. but i have no clue regarding the species of this taxon.
According to my obeservation and reference from Almeida, Fl of Maharashtra the following can be described as
1. Leaves ovate-lanceolate; Berry ovoid C. magna
1. Leaves ovate or obovate, not lanceolate; Berry globose C. tapia
Crataeva magna (Lour.) DC., Prodr. 1: 243, 1824; Sharma et al, Fl. India 2: 324, 1993; Pradhan et al, Fl. SGNP 98, 2005.
Synonyms: Capparis magna Lour. Fl. Cochinch. 1: 331, 1790. Crateva odora Buch.-Ham., Trans. L. Soc. 15: 118, 1827. Crateva tapia L., ssp. odora (Jacob.) Almeida, Fl. Savantwadi 44, 1990 & in Fl, Mah. 1: 51,
1996. Crateva odora Buch.-Ham., Trans. L. Soc. 15: 118, 1827. Crateva religiosa var. nurvala Hook f., Fl. Brit. India 1: 172, 1872; Cooke, Fl. Pres. Bombay 1: 44, 1958 (Repr.). Crataeva nurvala Ham. in Trans. L. Soc. 15: 121, 1827. C. roxburghii sensu Graham, Cat. Bombay Pl. 8, 1839. (non Br., 1826).
Common name: Sacred barna, Three leaves caper, Vai-varna, Wairoda, Nirvala.

Crataeva tapia L., Sp. Pl. 1753; Almeida, Fl. Mah. 1: 51, 1996.

Synonyms: Crateva adansonii ssp. odora (Buch.-Ham.) Jacobs in Blumea 12: 198, 1964; Singh et al, Fl. Mah. St. 1: 223, 2000; Pradhan et al, Fl. SGNP 98, 2005. Crataeva religiosa Forst. var. religiosa (R. Br.) sensu Hook f. & Thoms., Fl. Brit. India 1: 172, 1872. C. religiosa var. roxburghii Cooke, Fl. Pres. Bombay 1: 44, 1958 (Repr.); Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 1: 172, 1872. Crataeva religiosa Forst.f., Prodr. 35, 1786.
hope this can solve some confusion
further discuission and reference is still required in this topic on genus Crataeva

… I stand corrected, …

Definitely not Capparis sp as you say.
Will respond with some more literature i have on Crataeva sp in a few days’ time.

Maerua apetala (Spreng.) M. Jacobs

Endemic to Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh found from sea level to 300m.