Grewia L.

Small trees, shrubs or climbers, stellate-pubescent. Leaves alternate, stipulate, petiolate, serrate, dentate or entire along margins, sometimes lobed, somewhat coriaceous. Inflorescences axillary, leaf-opposed or terminal solitary or clustered, pedunculate, umbellate cymes or panicles. Flowers bracteate, pedicellate, bisexual 5-merous. Sepals 5, free, valvate, coriaceous, usually coloured, mostly glabrous inside. Petals 5, free, much shorter, clawed with a gland inside, rarely absent. Receptacle raised or not, densely pubescent. Stamens numerous, free, inserted on more or less elevated receptacle or androphore; anthers dorsifixed, dorsally curved, dehiscing longitudinally. Ovary superior, on top of androphore, 2 - 4-loculed with 2 or more superposed ovules in each locue; style subulate; stigma 2 - 4-lobed or penicillate. Drupes entire or 2 - 4-lobed,fleshy or fibrous with 1 - 4 pyrenes; each stone 1- or 2-seeded. Seeds suberect or horizontal, endospermous; embryo straight.

ca 150 species in the tropics and subtropics, rare in temperate regions; 31 in India.

Notes. Common in deciduous and evergreen forests.

Literature. NARAYANASWAMI, V. & R.S. RAO (1950). A preliminary note on the Indo-Burmese species of Grewia Linn. J. Indian Bot. Soc. 29: 177 - 190.

KEY TO THE SPECIES

1a. Flowers solitary

14. Grewia indandamanica

b. Flowers many in panicles or cymes

2

2a. Inflorescences paniculate, terminal and/or axillary

3

b. Inflorescences cymse, terminal or leaf-opposed (rarely terminal in G. umbellifera and G. rhamnifolia)

4

3a. Leaves subentire or serrulate; petals white or yellow; drupes globose, 8 - 10 mm across, purple

16. Grewia nervosa

b. Leaves entire; petals pink; drupes obovoid, 1.3 - 2 .3 cm across, orange-yellow

5. Grewia calophylla

4a. Peduncles capillary, 1 - 2-flowered

28. Grewia tenax

b. Peduncles not capillary, 3 - many-flowered

5

5a. Peduncles much shorter than or as long as petioles

6

b. Peduncles much longer than petioles

10

6a. Flower buds more than 1 cm long

7

b. Flower buds less than 0.8 cm long

8

7a. Leaves oblong, ovate-oblong or ovate-elliptic; petals yellow

9. Grewia flavescens

b. Leaves rotund-ovate, obovate or obcordate; petals white

26. Grewia scleropbylla

8a. Stipules auriculate

29. Grewia tiliifolia

b. Stipules not auriculate

9

9a. Leaves rounded to abruptly acuminate at apex, villous beneath; flower buds ellipsoid

31. Grewia villosa

b. Leaves acute to acuminate at apex, scabrous above; flower buds ovoid or oblong

1. Grewia abutilifolia

10a. Leaves 5 - 7-nerved (3 - 5-nerved in G. pandaika)

11

b. Leaves3(-4)-nerved

15

11a. Stipules auriculate

12

b. Stipules linear or lanceolate

13

12a. Leaves regularly crenate; petioles more than 6 mm long

3. Grewia asiatica

b. Leaves coarsely double-serrate; petioles up to 6 mm long

25. Grewia sapida

13a. Leaves orbicular, broadly elliptic or obovate, finely grey tomentose beneath

19. Grewia orbiculata

b. Leaves ovate, ovate-oblong, elliptic, elliptic-oblong or lanceolate, pubescent beneath

14

14a Leaves coarsely crenate, 3 - 5-nerved; flower buds ovoid-oblong

21. Grewia pandaica

b. Leaves crenate-serrate, 5 - 6-nerved; flower buds globose to ovoid

8. Grewia eriocarpa

15a. Leaves glaucous beneath

16

b. Leaves not glaucous beneath

17

16a Peduncles slender, more than 1.5 cm long; drupes not lobed

24. Grewia rothii

b. Peduncles stout, up to 1.5 cm long; drupes 2-lobed

6. Grewia damine

17a. Plants with bisexual and unisexual flowers

18

b. Planis with bisexual flowers only

19

18a. Leaves oblique; stamens more than 40; drupes densely hirsute or hispid

13. Grewia hirsuta

b. Leaves not oblique; stamens 16 - 20; drupes sparsely hirsute or glabrescent

11. Grewia helicterifolia

19a. Leaves rhomboid or rhomboid-obovate, less than 1.5 cm broad

22. Grewia piscatorum

b. Leaves neither rhomboid nor rhomboid-ovate, more than 1.5 cm broad

20

20a. Leaves glabrous or glabrescent

21

b. Leaves scabrid, pubescent or tomentose

27

21a. Inflorescences axillary

22

b. Inflorescences axillary or terminal

26

22a. Drupes glabrescent when mature

23

b. Drupes pilose, tomentose or bristly when mature

24

23a. Leaves crenate-serrate; drupes obscurely 4-lobed or not

2. Grewia acuminata

b. Leaves sharply serrate; drupes 2-lobed

27. Grewia serrulata

24a. Flower buds ovoid or ovoid-oblong; petals reflexed; drupes rusty pubescent

4. Grewia bracteata

b. Flower buds conical or cylindric; petals not reflexed; drupes bristly or pilose

25

25a. Leaves obliquely cordate at base; sepals oblong; drupes bristly

20. Grewia orientalis

b. Leaves narrowed at base; sepals linear-lanceolate; drupes pilose

15. Grewia lanceaefolia

26a. Climbing shrubs; peduncles up to 3 cm long; drupes purple, subglabrous

30. Grewia umbellifera

b. Erect shrubs; peduncles up to 1.5 cm long; drupes yellow, brown-tomentose

23. Grewia rhamnifolia

27a. Peduncles solitary

18. Grewia optiva

b. Peduncles more than one

28

28a. Petals emalginate at apex

17. Grewia oppositifolia

b. Petals acute to obtuse at apex

29

29a. Peduncles more than 2.5 cm long; drupes glabrescent

12. Grewia heterotricha

b. Peduncles up to 2.5 cm long; drupes hispid or pubescent

30

30a. Petals ovate, ca 5 mm long; drupes 2-lobed

7. Grewia denticulata

b. Petals oblong-lanceolate, ca 8 mm long; drupes 4-lobed

10. Grewia gamblei

List of Lower Taxa