Artabotrys R. Brown

Shrubs, climbing by means of persistent hook-like peduncles. Leaves shiny, coriaceous. Flowers bisexual, solitary or several fascicled on woody, hooked-recurved leaf- opposed peduncles. Sepals 3, valvate. Petals 6 (3 + 3),6 - 9 in A. hexapetalus, valvate, clawed, concave at base; inner ones connivent at base, covering stamens and carpels. Stamens oblong, cuneate; connectives flat at top. carpeis few or many; style oblong or columnar; ovules 2, erect, collateral. Ripe carpels many, subsessile, ovoid, berried. Seeds 2, rarely 1.

Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand to E. Asia, Malesia and Australia, also in Africa; ca 100 species, 6 in India.

KEY TO THE SPECIES

1a. petals similar in 2 series, flat and lanceolate

2

b. Petals unequal; outer lanceolate, inner cylindrical

4

2a. Petals less than 2.5 cm long; sepals long-acuminate, ca 1 cm long

2. Artabotrys cubittii

b. petals 3 cm or more long sepalls acute, less than 1 cm long

3

3a. Leaves thinly coriaceous petals glabrous, ca 1 cm broad

3. Artabotrys hexapetalus

b. Leaves thickly coriaceous; petals brown tomentose, ca 5 mm broad

6. Artabotrys zeylanicus

4a. Pedicels 7 - 12 mm long; peduncles hooked with fasciculate branches

4. Artabotrys nicobarianus

b. Pedicels ca 5 mm long; peduncles hooked without fasciculate branches

5

5a. Leaves 10 - 13 cm long shortly caudate-acuminate outer petals ca 2 cm long

1. Artabotrys caudatus

b. Leaves 15 - 20 cm long, obtusely acuminate; outer petals 2.5 - 4.5 cm long

5. Artabotrys speciosus

List of Lower Taxa