Popowia beddomeana Hook. f. & Thomson in Fl. Brit. India 1: 68. 1872. P. ramosissima Beddome, Icon. Pl. Ind. Or. t. 75. 1868 - 1874, excl. synonym.

Trees, 2 - 4 m tall; branches brown tomentose when young, turning glabrous later. Leaves ovate-lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, narrow at base, caudate-acuminate at apex, 5.5 - 7 x 2 - 3 cm, coriaceous, glabrous above, tomentose beneath at base; petioles ca 2 cm long, tomentose. Flowers ca 5 mm across, solitary, sometimes paired, extra-axillary; pedicels very short, tomentose; bracts small, submedian. Sepals 3, connate at base, ovate, acute, ca 2 mm long, tomentose outside. Petals 6 (3 + 3), thick, tomentose outside, glabrous inside; outer petals smaller, broadly ovate, ca 3 mm long; inner ones concave, clawed, thick, inflexed at tip. Stamens ca 24 or indefinite, short, cuneate; anther-thecae dorsal, remote; connectives truncate or capitate. Carpels 4 - 7, small, ovate-elongate, tomentose; ovules 1 - 2; styles short; stigma flat, sometimes curved. Ripe carpels few, berries, globose, stalked.

Fl. March - May; Fr Sept.

Distrib. India: Evergreen forests, 100 - 1100 m. Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Endemic to southern Western Ghats.

RELATED IMAGES