Palaquium ravii
Palaquium ravii | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Ericales |
Family: | Sapotaceae |
Genus: | Palaquium |
Species: | P. ravii
|
Binomial name | |
Palaquium ravii |
Palaquium ravii is a species of tree in the family Sapotaceae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats mountains and native to Kerala and Tamil Nadu in India.[2]
Description
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/Palaquium_ravii_66346750.jpg/220px-Palaquium_ravii_66346750.jpg)
This species occurs as evergreen trees that grow up to 20 to 37 m tall. The trees have straight, smooth, grey bark or greyish-red boles, with reddish blaze and profuse white latex.[3] Mature trees appear like columns as the branches spread out at a significant height. The young branchlets are cylindrical, with appressed small hairs, but are hairless when mature. The leaves are simple and alternate, spirally arranged and distinctly clustered towards the end of the twigs. The leaves are thick (coriaceous), hariless (glabrous), with an entire margin and turn brown when dry. They have small stipules that drop off, leaving a visible scar. The leaf petiole is about 1.5- 2.5 cm long and with small hairs when young, but is glabrous in mature leaves. The leaf blade is about 8-17 long and 3.5-6.2 cm wide, distinctly obovate to oblanceolate in shape. The leaf has an attenuate base and an apex that is obtuse or rounded or abruptly acuminate with a blunt tip. In venation, the leaves have 5-8 pairs of secondary nerves and broadly reticulate tertiary veins. The flowers are creamy white that are solitary in older branches or held in axillary clusters of 2-8 flowers each with a pedicel up to 1 cm long. The fruit is a berry, with a spherical or obovoid shape, about 2 cm in length. The calyx lobes are persistent on the fruit, which has a grainy, rough light brown surface. The fruits have 1, or rarely 2, seeds, that are shiny, brown.[4][5]
References
- ^ World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1998). "Palaquium ravii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1998: e.T38843A10152882. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1998.RLTS.T38843A10152882.en. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
- ^ Sasidharan, N.; Vink, W. (1991). "A new species of Palaquium Blanco (Sapotaceae) from India. , 35(2), 385–387" (PDF). Blumea - Biodiversity, Evolution and Biogeography of Plants. 35 (2): 385–387.
- ^ "Palaquium ravii - SAPOTACEAE". www.biotik.org. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ "Palaquium ravii - SAPOTACEAE". www.biotik.org. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ Madhavan, A.P.; Bhat, Kshama; Kasinathan, Srinivasan (2022). Last Ones Standing: Eleven Threatened Trees of the Western Ghats Rainforests. Mysuru: Nature Conservation Foundation. pp. 26–29. ISBN 9788195466306.