Celastrus L.

Scandent shrubs or small trees. Leaves spirally arranged; petiole elliptic to orbicular, toothed, crenate or subentire, rarely serrulate; stipules caducous. Inflorescence terminal, axillary or lateral racemes or cymes. Flowers 5-merous, minute, unisexual and then plants dioecious or bisexual, pedicellate. Sepals valvate or imbricate, persistent. Petals inserted under the disc. Fertile stamens inserted on or below the margin of the disc; filaments glabrous or papillose; anthers ovoid or oblong-ellipsoid, obtuse or apiculate; sterile stamens smaller; anthers ovate-oblong, acute or acuminate. Ovary free from the disc or slightly confluent with it, 3-locular; sterile ovary in male flowers much smaller than the fertile one; ovules 2 or 1 in each locule. Disc cupular, membranous or fleshy and flat. entire or lobed. Fruits capsular, subglobose, loculicidally 3- valved. Seeds 1-6, arillate.

Mostly in tropical and subtropical East Asia to Australia and Latin America, fewer in N. America and Madagascar; ca 31 species, 7 in India.

Literature. DING HOU (1955). A revision of the genus Celastrus. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 42: 215-302.

KEY TO THE SPECIES

1a. Inflorescence only terminal

6. Celastrus paniculatus

b. Inflorescence both terminal and axillary

2

2a. Evergreen shrubs; inflorescence without vegetative buds; fruits 1 seeded

3

b. Deciduous shrubs; inflorescence with vegetative buds; fruits 3-6-seeded

5

3a. Leaves densely reticulate; disc membranous, cup-shaped.

1. Celastrus hindsii

b. Leaves not densely reticulate; disc fleshy, flat

4

4a. Capsules cylindric, stipulate; seeds pinkish brown

5. Celastrus monospermus

b. Capsules angular. ovoid; seeds blackish brown

4. Celastrus monospermoides

5a. Veinlets of leaves elevated on both surfaces; seeds rugose

3. Celastrus membranifolius

b. Veinlets of leaves immersed above and elevated beneath; seeds smooth

6

6a. Filaments glabrous; anthers apiculate; seeds ellipsoid-ovoid

2. Celastrus hookeri

b. Filaments papillose; anthers ovoid; seeds plano-convex

7. Celastrus stylosus

List of Lower Taxa