Large to medium-sized trees. Leaves alternate, often crowded at ends of branchlets.
entire or crenate-serrate, pinnately veined, occasionally gland-dotted. Flowers pedicelled, often fragrant, in few to many-flowered racemes. Sepals usually 5, rarely 4 or 6,
valvate, inserted on annular disc, deciduous. Petals 5, rarely 4 or 6, valvate, fimbriate or
toothed with 10 - 60 more or less linear divisions. Stamens many, sometimes subaggregated into groups opposite petals and alternating with disc-lobes; filaments long or short; anthers innate, linear or oblong, awned or not, comose. Disc flat, cushion-shaped,
thickened, often pitted, glabrous or villous, often 5-lobed, rarely glanduliform. Ovary
superior, sessile, 2 - 5-locular, rarely 1-locular or more; ovules pendulous; styles long or
short, subulate, sometimes twisted; stigmas entire. Drupes with a woody, rugose or tubercled pyrene; pyrenes 1 - 5, or rarely more-loculed, locules usually 1-seeded.
Asia, Australia and Pacific regions, ca 200 species; 29 in India.
Literature.
COODE, M.J.E. (1984). Elaeocarpus in Australia and New Zealand. Kew Bull. 39: 509 - 586. CORNER, E.J.H. (1939). Elaeocarpus in Notes on the systematy and distribution of Malayan Phanerogams III. Gard. Bull. Str. Settlem. 10: 239 329. KRISHNAMURTY, T. (1964). A note on
R. udraksha, Elaeocarpus shpaericus (Gaertn.) K. Schum. Ind. For. 90: 774 - 776. MERRILL, E.D. (1951).
Notes on Elaeocarpus Linnaeus J. Arn. Arb. 32: 157-200. MERRILL, E.D. (1952). Reductions in
Elaeocarpus. Proc. Roy. Soc. Queensland 62: 49 -
50. TIREL, C. (1978). A propos du genere Elaeocarpus
en Nouvelle-Caledonie. Adansonia II, 17: 441 -
454. TIREL, C. and J. RAYNOL (1980). Researches
bibliographiques sur trois especes d' Elaeocarpus (Elaeocarpaceae). Adansonia II, 20: 169 -
177. WEIBEL, R. (1972). Deuxc especes nouvelles du genere Elaeocarpus provenant des montagnes du sed del' Inde.
Condollea 27(1): 15 -
19. (1968). Morphologie del' embryon et de la graine des Elaeocarpus. Candollea
23: 101 -
108.
Notes.
In India the species of Elaeocarpus are confined mostly to North eastern and
Southern India and a few to Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Six species viz., E. blascoi,
E. gaussenii, E. glandulosus, E. munroii, E. recurvatus and E. venustus are endemic to
southern Peninsular Indian region. A few species show restricted distribution in the
subcontinent viz., E. amoenus to India and Sri Lanka. E. acuminatus and E. prunifolius
to India and Bangladesh. E. braceanus, E. bracteatus, E. grandifolius and E. helferi to
India and Myanmar. E. sikkimensis to India and Bhutan. However, a further collection
and study of specimens is essential to reach any definite colclusion.
The species generally prefer warm humid climate and usually occur between 500
and 2000 m altitudes, though widely distributed, they are never found in abundance in
any particular locality. The fruits of E. floribundus are edible. E. sphaericus ('Rudraksh') is planted throughout India except the arid North west region, for its nuts, which
are used as beads for rosaries, bracelets and necklaces and also for its magico-religious
beliefs.
KEY TO THE SPECIES
| b. Leaves neither convex nor folded back to back
|
5
|
| 5a. Petals broader towards base, narrowed towards apex
|
6
|
| b. Petals narrowed towards base, broader towards apex
|
8
|
| b. Flowers usually more than 10 mm across
|
7
|
| b. Sepals densely silky hairy; ovary hairy; pyrenes 2-seeded, 3-grooved
|
27.
Elaeocarpus varunua
|
| 8a. Awns shorter than anthers
|
9
|
| b. Awns as long as or longer than anthers
|
13
|
| b. Flowers 1 - 1.5 cm across
|
10
|
| 10a. Leaves 16 -
35 cm long, obovate, oblong or oblanceolate; drupes 3 -
3.5 cm long
|
20.
Elaeocarpus rugosus
|
| b. Leaves 5 - 14 cm long, elliptic, elliptic-lanceolate, elliptic-oblong or ovate-elliptic, ovate or ovate- lanceolate; drupes up to 2.5 cm long
|
11
|
| b. Awns reflexed; styles densely appressed silky hairy at base
|
12
|
| 12a. Petioles up to 2 cm long; pedicels densely short sericeous; sepals and petals 10 -
12 mm long
|
4.
Elaeocarpus blascoi
|
| b. Petioles 2.5 - 3.5 cm long; pedicels glabrous; sepals and petals 7 - 9 mm long
|
16.
Elaeocarpus munroii
|
| 13a. Petals 2-lobed; lobes laciniate or not
|
14
|
| b. Petals not lobed, uniformly laciniate at apex
|
16
|
| b. Leaves 10 -
15 cm long; petioles 1 -
2.5 cm long; petal-lobes deeply laciniate
|
15
|
| b. Leaves up to 20 cm long; pyrenes terete, tubercled
|
17
|
| 18a. Anthers bearded with tufts of hairs at apex
|
19
|
| b. Anthers not bearded at apex
|
26
|
| b. Leaves and petioles glabrous or sparsely puberulous beneath
|
20
|
| 20a. Leaves lanceolate, elliptic-lanceolate or oblanceolate; petioles 7 -
15 mm long; stamens 15
|
13.
Elaeocarpus lanceifolius
|
| b. Leaves broadly ovate, ovate-oblong, ovate-elliptic or elliptic-oblong; petioles 2 -
6 cm long; stamens
more than 15
|
21
|
| b. Leaves not pustulate when dry; flower-buds broadly ovoid or oblong-ovoid; pyrenes strongly rugose
|
23
|
| 23a. Petioles 2 - 2.5 cm long; flowers 5 - 10 mm across; filaments shorter than anthers; ovary globose
|
11.
Elaeocarpus helferi
|
| b. Petioles 3 -
5 cm long; flowers 10 -
12 mm across; filaments as long as or slightly longer than anthers;
ovary oblong-ovoid
|
25.
Elaeocarpus tectorius
|
| 24a. Leaves 13 -
30 x 6 -
9 cm, not pustulate when dry, petioles with 2 leafy processes at apex
|
22.
Eleaocarpus sikkimensis
|
| b. Leaves 5 -
11 x 2.5 -
5 cm, pustulate when dry, petioles without leafy processes at apex
|
25
|
| 25a. Petals 4 -
5 mm long; styles ca 2 mm long; drupes 2.5 cm long, broadly ovoid, rounded at apex, pyrenes
broadly ellipsoid, rounded at apex
|
8.
Elaeocarpus gaussenii
|
| b. Petals 6 - 8 mm long; styles 3 - 4 mm long; drupes 3 - 3.5 cm long, narrowly obovoid, obtuse at apex, pyrenes oblong, acute at apex
|
21.
Elaeocarpus serratus
|
| 26a. Leaves ferruginous tomentose beneath; bracteolate prominent, laciniate, persistent
|
5.
Elaeocarpus braceanus
|
| b. Leaves glabrous or puberulous beneath; bracteoles minute, not laciniate, cadueous
|
27
|
| 27a. Petioles 10 -
12 mm long, eglandular; flower buds pyramidal; drupes lanceolate, pyrenes compressed
|
12.
Elaeocarpus hygrophyllus
|
| b. Petioles 1.5 -
5 cm long, with 2 glands near apex; flower-buds ovoid-conical or oblong-ovoid; drupes
oblong-ovoid or elliptic, pyrenes terete
|
28
|
| 28a. Leaves obtuse at base; racemes as long as leaves; flowers 6 - 8 mm across; petals glabrous; stamens 20 - 30
|
14.
Elaeocarpus lucidus
|
| b. Leaves cuneate, acute to rounded at basc; racemes shorter than leaves; flowers 10 - 12 mm across; petals hairy, stamens 40 - 50
|
29
|
| 29a. Leaves acute or shortly acuminate, glandular beneath, pustulate when dry; pedicels 7 -
12 mm long;
sepals glandular pubescent; anthers glabrous
|
9.
Elaeocarpus glandulosus
|
| b. Leaves long acuminate, not glandular beneath, not pustulate when dry pedicels 5 -
7 mm long; sepals
not glandular pubescent; anthers puberulous
|
25.
Elaeocarpus tectorius
|
