Scolopia acuminata
Clos in Ann. Sci. Nat. 4, 8: 251. 1857. S. crenata auct. non '(Wight) Clos', 1857: Hook. f. & Thomson in Fl. Brit. India 1: 191. 1872, p. p., quoad syn. S. acuminata et specim. Ceylon. S. gaertneri auct. non Thwaites; Rama Rao, Fl. Pl. Travancore 22. 1914. S. schreberi auct. non Gmelin; Bourdillon, For. Trees Travancore 17.1908.
Mal.: Chera-kanji.
Trees 5 - 15 m tall; young stems and branches of older trees unarmed; branchlets puberulent. Leaves ovate-lanceolate, elliptic to elliptic-lanceolate, obtusely short or subobtusely long acuminate at apex, cuneate and somewhat inequilateral at base, subentire, rarely repando-crenate, 5 - 9 x 2 - 4.5 cm, glabrous; secondary veins 4 - 5(-6) pairs; petioles 3 - 4 (-6) mm long. Flowers 6 - 7 mm across, pinkish white, 5 - 15 in axillary or subterminal puberulous 2 - 5 cm long racemes; pedicels 4 - 8 (-12) mm long, grey puberulous. Sepals ovate-oblong or elliptic-oblong, obtuse and ciliolate along margins, ca 2 mm long, puberulent to subglabrous outside. Petals similar to sepals, but narrowly oblong to obovate, with markedly thinner margins, 1.5 - 2 mm long. Receptacle densely hairy. Disc glands of club-shaped ca 1.5 mm long papillae, ciliolate at apex. Stamens 40 - 60; anther connectives glabrous. Ovary glabrous; style slender, ca 4 mm long. Berry ovoid-globose, apiculate, up to 1.8 cm across, green, bright scarlet when ripe.
Fl. March - April; Fr. May - July.
Distrib. India: S. Western Ghats at low elevations. Kerala (Kulathuphuzha, 750 m, Quilon, Vivekananthan 66184 - CAL!, MH !); Peninsular India, sine loc., Herb. wight (Kew Distrib. no. 82, p. p. (CAL I).
Sri Lanka.
Notes. The above two collections segregated from among the specimens ideatified as S. crenata (in CAL) agrees well with the duplicates of the type of S. acuminata (Thwaites 1077 - 3 sheets) from Sri Lanka in CAL, especially in the venation of upper leaf surface. Plants reported as S. pusilla (Gaertn.) Willd. from erstwhile Travaacore under the names S. schreberi Gmelin (Bourdillon, I. c.) and S. gaertneri Thwaites (Rama Rao, l. c.) represent this species.
Trees 5 - 15 m tall; young stems and branches of older trees unarmed; branchlets puberulent. Leaves ovate-lanceolate, elliptic to elliptic-lanceolate, obtusely short or subobtusely long acuminate at apex, cuneate and somewhat inequilateral at base, subentire, rarely repando-crenate, 5 - 9 x 2 - 4.5 cm, glabrous; secondary veins 4 - 5(-6) pairs; petioles 3 - 4 (-6) mm long. Flowers 6 - 7 mm across, pinkish white, 5 - 15 in axillary or subterminal puberulous 2 - 5 cm long racemes; pedicels 4 - 8 (-12) mm long, grey puberulous. Sepals ovate-oblong or elliptic-oblong, obtuse and ciliolate along margins, ca 2 mm long, puberulent to subglabrous outside. Petals similar to sepals, but narrowly oblong to obovate, with markedly thinner margins, 1.5 - 2 mm long. Receptacle densely hairy. Disc glands of club-shaped ca 1.5 mm long papillae, ciliolate at apex. Stamens 40 - 60; anther connectives glabrous. Ovary glabrous; style slender, ca 4 mm long. Berry ovoid-globose, apiculate, up to 1.8 cm across, green, bright scarlet when ripe.
Fl. March - April; Fr. May - July.
Distrib. India: S. Western Ghats at low elevations. Kerala (Kulathuphuzha, 750 m, Quilon, Vivekananthan 66184 - CAL!, MH !); Peninsular India, sine loc., Herb. wight (Kew Distrib. no. 82, p. p. (CAL I).
Sri Lanka.
Notes. The above two collections segregated from among the specimens ideatified as S. crenata (in CAL) agrees well with the duplicates of the type of S. acuminata (Thwaites 1077 - 3 sheets) from Sri Lanka in CAL, especially in the venation of upper leaf surface. Plants reported as S. pusilla (Gaertn.) Willd. from erstwhile Travaacore under the names S. schreberi Gmelin (Bourdillon, I. c.) and S. gaertneri Thwaites (Rama Rao, l. c.) represent this species.
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