Scurrula pulverulenta
(Wall.) G.Don, Gen. Hist. 3: 421. 1834; Danser in Bull. Jard. Bot.
Buitenzorg, Ser. 3, 10: 353. 1929. Loranthus pulverulentus Wall. in Roxb., Fl. Ind., eds. Carey &
Wall. 2: 221. 1824; Hook.f., Fl. Brit. India 5: 311. 1886.
Branches terete; young internodes flattened, widening towards top, densely white stellate hairy, later glabrous. Leaves opposite or subopposite, broadly elliptic-ovate, rounded
or acute at base, acute or obtuse at apex, usually crisped margined, (6 -) 12 - 16 x (3 -) 6 - 8 cm,
subcoriaceous, white or rusty stellate hairy on both surfaces when young, glabrous when old;
lateral nerves 5 - 9 pairs; petioles (1 -) 1.5 - 2.5 cm long. Inflorescences centrifugal pseudoracemes;
peduncle more than one in each axil, each 6 - 10-flowered, 2 - 3 cm long; flower buds spathulate,
2 - 2.5 cm long, densely stellate hairy; flowers 2.7 - 3 cm long; pedicels 1.5 - 2 mm long; bract
scaly, 1.5 -2 x 0.5 - 0.6 mm. Calyculus obsolete. Petals united; tube ventricose beneath the neck,
with median split up to half the length, 12 - 16 mm long; lobes linear, unilaterally reflexed, 5 - 7 mm
long. Stamens erect; filaments 5 - 6 mm long; anthers linear-oblong, 4 - 4.2 mm long. Ovary
obconical, 2 - 2.2 mm long; style filiform, 2 - 3 cm long; stigma small, subcapitate. Fruits
pyriform, 7 - 12 x 3 - 4 mm, smooth, white stellate hairy.
Fl. & Fr. Sept. - March.
Distrib. India: Tropical regions in Himalayas and North-east India, at 1000 to 1500 m altitude, found on a variety of hosts, particularly in deciduous forests. Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, China and Thailand.
Notes. Pundir & Adhin (Indian J. Forest. 5: 138. 1982) reports self-parasitism in this species. Pundir (Indian J. Forest. 18: 74 - 79. 1995) further lists several hosts for this species from Doon Valley in Uttarakhand.
Few vessel members with a few large circular openings; fibres moderately thick-walled, broad-lumened, with or without reduced pits.
Pollen 3-lobed; P - 22 (24.8) 27 µm; E - 40 (43) 46 µm; P/E - 0.58 µm; ex. 2 µm; col. 1 µm.
Chromosome number: n = 9 (Bir, Gill & Bedi, Taxon 28: 402. 1979).
Fl. & Fr. Sept. - March.
Distrib. India: Tropical regions in Himalayas and North-east India, at 1000 to 1500 m altitude, found on a variety of hosts, particularly in deciduous forests. Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, China and Thailand.
Notes. Pundir & Adhin (Indian J. Forest. 5: 138. 1982) reports self-parasitism in this species. Pundir (Indian J. Forest. 18: 74 - 79. 1995) further lists several hosts for this species from Doon Valley in Uttarakhand.
Few vessel members with a few large circular openings; fibres moderately thick-walled, broad-lumened, with or without reduced pits.
Pollen 3-lobed; P - 22 (24.8) 27 µm; E - 40 (43) 46 µm; P/E - 0.58 µm; ex. 2 µm; col. 1 µm.
Chromosome number: n = 9 (Bir, Gill & Bedi, Taxon 28: 402. 1979).
