Shrubs or trees, unarmed, evergreen, often inodorous; innovations, young inflorescences, bracts, bracteoles and sepals densely ferruginously-tomentulose, mature parts
glabrescent. Leaves alternate, or rarely opposite, usually imparipinnate, (1) 3 - 5-(or sometimes up to 15-) foliolate or occasionally also simple; leaflets alternate or opposite, entire or serrate-crenate to denticulate to subentire, equilateral, pinnately veined, the wins usually prominulent; petiolules often articulated at base. Inflorescences terminal and/or axillary (sometimes from uppermost leaf axils, racemose or cymose panicles, Flowers bisexual, fragrant or not. Sepals imbricate, distinct or connate at base. Petals imbricate, greenish to creamy-white, often glandular, glabrous or minutely puberulent or scurffy abaxially. Stamens 8 or 10, free, alternately short and long; filaments linear, subulate above, flat or sometimes with a central ridge at inner face near the apex, glabrous or rarely pubescent; anthers ovoid-cordate, glandular-apiculate. Disk minute, annular, fleshy, glabrous. Ovary ovoid-cylindric, fusiform or ellipsoid, glabrous or rusty-puberulous to densely rusty-pilose, smooth or pitted glandular, often raised on a gynophore that is tumid, disciform and broader than the ovary, or sometimes seated on a narrow stipe, 2 - 5-locular, each locule with 1 - 2 ovules; style often indistinct, occasionally clearly marked, cylindric, glabrous or rusty puberulent or tomentulose; stiama broad, obtuse and depressed or sometimes subcapitate or subglobose. Fruits small to medium sized berries, subglobose, oblate, oblong-ellipsoid or obovoid, 1 - 3-seeded, with thin pulp, smooth or pitted-glandular or mamillate rind, creamy-white to salmon-reddish or purplish-black when ripe; seeds greenish, often plano-convex with
thin, white shiny outer layer.
Tropical and subtropical; from India and Sri Lanka, eastward, throughout S. E. Asia
and S. China, to New Guinea and N. E. Australia; ca 43 species, 7 species and 8 varieties
in India.
Notes.
In the past, Glycosmis was regarded as a problematic genus due to its taxonomic and nomenclatural perplexities. For example, [Swingle (1943); Swingle & Reece (1967)] who had thoroughly studied all other genera of the subfamily Citroideae including Citrus, however, did not venture for a revisionary account of Glycosmis. He
was presumably apprehended by the so-called chaotic state of taxonomy of this genus, which he stated in his own words "the taxonomy (of Glycosmis!) is in such a chaotic state of confusion that it is not yet possible to key out all the species or even to tell with certainty
how many should be recognized as valid ....." He, therefore, restricted his treatment of Glycosmis by mere listing of the species accepted by earlier botanists like Oliver, J. D. Hooker, Kurz, Engler, Tanaka etc., along with a detailed description of Glycosmis citrifolia.
Thanks to the contributions of Stone (1978, 1985), the earlier scenario has considerably been unravelled. Stone's (1985) synoptic account of Glycosmis can be a precursor for a monographic study on the genus. He redefined Glycosmis as a clearcut genus
comprising 43 tentatively acceptable and 6 dubious species. His 'conspectus' on Glycosmis included many new taxa, new combinations, new synonyms and new distributional records. Except a few complex groups such as G. cyanocarpa, G. chlorosperma
and G. mauritiana, all other species recognized by Stone are quite distinct and less variable.
In the present treatment 7 species and 8 varieties are recognised in India, of which 7 taxa are endemic to different phytogeographic regions: G. boreana, G. cyanocarpa var. linearifolia, G. singuliflora endemic to the East Himalayas and North-East India; G. macrocarpa, G. mauritiana var. angustifolia in peninsular India; G. mauritiana var. andamanensis, G. pilosa in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The reported occurrence of G. sapindoides in the Andaman Islands by Tanaka (1930) and Stone (1985) seems to be rather erroneous. The specimens in DD and CAL,
which Tanaka determined as belonging to G. sapindoides, however, represent G. pilosa
Narayanaswami- a distinct species characterized with the presence of a 5-locular ovary. Since no specimen identified as G. sapindoides could be traced in any of the Indian herbaris, we exclude this species from the present account. Similarly G. chlorosperma which was reported as occurring in the Andaman Islands by Stone (1985) is not included here because of the above reasons.
Literature.
BRIZICKY, G.K. (1962) Taxonomic and nomenclatural notes on Zanthoxylum and Glycosmis (Rutaceae). J. Arn. Arb. 43: 80 - 93. KURZ, S. (1876) On the species of Glycosmis. J. Bot. 14: 33 - 40, t. 174 - 175. MITRA, R. L. & K. SUBRAMANYAM (1969) Glycosmis pentaphylla (Rutaceae) and related Indian taxa. J. Arn. Arb. 50: 153 - 157. NARAYANASWAMI, v. (1941) A revision of the Indo-Malayan specie. of Glycosmis. Rec. Bot. Surv. India 14: i-v, 1 - 72, t, 1 - 30. NICOLSON, D.H. & C.R. SURESH (1985) Proposal to conserve 4087 Glycosmis against Panel (Rutaceae). Taxon 34: 715 - 716. STONE, B.C. (1978) Studies in Malesian Rutaceae 1: Notes toward a revision of the genus Glycosmis Correa. Fed.
Mus. J. n. s. 23: 75 - 109. STONE, B.C.(1985) Aconspectus of the genus Glycosmis Correa: Studies in Malesian
Rutaceae III. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 137: 213 - 228. TANAKA, T. (1928) A note on Retzius' Limonia pentaphylla. Bot. Not. 1928: 156 - 160.
KEY TO THE SPECIES
1a. Ovary seated on a distinct gynophore
2
b. Ovary seated on a minute, annular, fleshy disk
6
2a. Ovary glabrous; gynophore tumid, lobulate, broader than ovary
3
b. Ovary rusty-puberulent or shortly to densely pilose; gynophore a narrow, short stipe
5
3a. Ovary 3-locular; leaves up to 10 cm long; leaflets up to 2 cm broad, obtusely acute at apex
b. Ovary 5-locular; leavel up to 40 cm long; leaflets up to 8 cm broad, obtusely acuminate or caudate at
apex
4
4a. Sepals deltoid, less than 1 mm long; staminal filaments with a central ridge at inner face near apex; 4
style continuous with ovary, not clearly distinct, glabrous
b. Ovary ovoid-cylindric (rarely subglobose),minutely puberulous; style often scarcely distinct from ovary; stigma truncate; berries up to 10 mm across
