Botanical Survey of India | Flora of India

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Trees, usually lofty buttressed; wood very hard; bark black, grey or brownish red; branchlets lepidote. Leaves alternate, unifoliolate or digitate, chartaceous or coriaceous, usually glabrous or rarely scaly when young above, adpressed fimbriate scaly beneath, pinnately nerved, pseudopeltate; petioles thickened at both ends; stipules lanceolate or aciculate, caducous. Flowers small, unisexual, in axillary panicles. Peduncles and branches adpressed lepidote; pedicels articulate. Calyx campanulate or urceolate, 5 or rarely 6-toothed, stellate- pubescent. Petals absent. Male flowers with 8 - 10 anther locules clustered, regularly or irregularly arranged in a ring at the top of the androgynophore with a minute sterile ovary in the centre, androgynophore granular papillose at base. Female flowers with 4 or 5(6), sessile, minute, laterally compressed, conglutinate, almost free ovaries encircled by sterile anthers at base; styles short, spreadmg or incurved with minute stigmas. Samaras with an ellipsoid or globose nut, woody epicarp, winged or keeled.

Tropical Asia from India through Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam to Malesia, tropical Australia, Pacific regions and Africa; ca 31 species; 5 in India.

Literature. KOSTERMANS, A.J.O.H. (1959). A monograph of the genus Hertiera Aiton (Sterculiaccae). Reinwardtia 4: 465 - 583.



KEY TO THE SPECIES


1a. Nut of samaras much longer than wing 2
b. Nut of samaras shorter or as long as wing 4
2a. Nuts with transverse ciruclar ridge 2. Heritiera fomes
b. Nuts without transverse ridge 3
3a. Plants of mangrove zone; anthers in a regular ring; ovaries glabrous 3. Heritiera Iittoralis
b. Plants of the hilly areas; anthers in irregularly arranged ring; ovaries haity 1. Heritiera dubia
4a. Fruits lepidote; anthers in irregular clumps; lateral nerves more than 8 pairs 4. Heritiera macrophylla
b. Fruits glabrous; anthers in regular rings; lateral nerves 4 or 5 pairs 5. Heritiera papilio


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