Sarcococca coriacea
(Hook.) Sweet, Hort. Brit., ed. 1, 491. 1826. Pachysandra? coriacea
Hook., Exot. Fl. 2: t. 148. 1825. Sarcococca pruniformis Lindl. in Bot. Reg. 12: t. 1012. 1826 (var.
latifolia Lindl.); Hook.f., Fl. Brit. India 5: 266. 1887, p. p.; Kanjilal et al., Fl. Assam 4: 134. 1940. S.
trinervia Wight, Icon. Pl. Ind. Orient. 5: 22, t. 1877. 1852; Gamble, Fl. Madras 2: 1264. 1925 (repr.
ed. 2: 885. 1957). S. saligna var. brevifolia Müll.Arg. in DC., Prodr. 16(1): 12. 1869. S. pruniformis
var. brevifolia (Müll.Arg.) Hook.f., l. c. 267. 1887. S. brevifolia (Müll.Arg.) Stapf ex Gamble, l. c.
1265. 1925. S. saligna non (D.Don) Müll.Arg., 1869: Mooney, Suppl. Bot. Bihar Orissa 29. 1950;
Deb., Fl. Tripura 1: 200. 1981; Harid. & R.R.Rao, Forest Fl. Meghalaya 2: 764. 1987.
Kh.:Tiw-deng-pah; Nep.:Chilne.
Shrubs, 1.5 - 2 (-3) m high, entirely glabrous. Leaves elliptic, oblong-elliptic (or narrowly so), narrowly oblong to oblong-lanceolate, rounded to cuneate or acute at base, apiculate, acuminate or caudate at apex, (3.5 -) 7 – 11 (- 16) x (1 -) 2 - 3.5 (- 6) cm, chartaceous to thinly coriaceous; lateral nerves 6 - 12 pairs (basal pair prominent, ascending to 50 - 90% way up the lamina); petioles 5 - 15 mm long. Inflorescences axillary, unisexual, the males 0.8 - 2.5 cm long, (5 -) 8 - 16-flowered, the females 1 - 2 cm long, often paired, 1 – 4 (- 8)-flowered) or bisexual with 1 - 4 female flowers subtending the male flowers; bracts ovate, triangular or deltoid, 0.7 - 2.5 x 0.5 - 2 mm. Male flowers: sessile or pedicels up to 1.5 mm long; bracteoles absent; sepals 4, ovate to ovate-oblong, 1.5 - 4 x 1 - 2 mm; stamens 4, filaments 3 - 8 mm long; anthers oblong, 1.5 - 2.5 mm long. Female flowers: ca 5 mm across: pedicels ca 2 mm long; bracteoles 4 - 8 (2 - 4 pairs) in subopposite pairs, triangular, ovate-triangular or deltoid, concave, 0.5 - 1.5 x 0.3 - 1.2 mm; sepals 4 - 6, similar to bracts, 1 - 2.5 x 0.7 - 2 mm; ovary ovoid, 1 - 2 x 0.7 - 1.5 mm, glabrous, bilocular; styles 2, 2 - 3 mm long, recurved above. Fruits ovoid, obliquely ellipsoid or subglobose, tipped by remains of style, 7 - 9 x 6 - 8 mm, fleshy.
Fl. & Fr. Nov. - May.
Distrib. India: Shaded places in forests, at 500 – 2500 m altitude. Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.
Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar.
Shrubs, 1.5 - 2 (-3) m high, entirely glabrous. Leaves elliptic, oblong-elliptic (or narrowly so), narrowly oblong to oblong-lanceolate, rounded to cuneate or acute at base, apiculate, acuminate or caudate at apex, (3.5 -) 7 – 11 (- 16) x (1 -) 2 - 3.5 (- 6) cm, chartaceous to thinly coriaceous; lateral nerves 6 - 12 pairs (basal pair prominent, ascending to 50 - 90% way up the lamina); petioles 5 - 15 mm long. Inflorescences axillary, unisexual, the males 0.8 - 2.5 cm long, (5 -) 8 - 16-flowered, the females 1 - 2 cm long, often paired, 1 – 4 (- 8)-flowered) or bisexual with 1 - 4 female flowers subtending the male flowers; bracts ovate, triangular or deltoid, 0.7 - 2.5 x 0.5 - 2 mm. Male flowers: sessile or pedicels up to 1.5 mm long; bracteoles absent; sepals 4, ovate to ovate-oblong, 1.5 - 4 x 1 - 2 mm; stamens 4, filaments 3 - 8 mm long; anthers oblong, 1.5 - 2.5 mm long. Female flowers: ca 5 mm across: pedicels ca 2 mm long; bracteoles 4 - 8 (2 - 4 pairs) in subopposite pairs, triangular, ovate-triangular or deltoid, concave, 0.5 - 1.5 x 0.3 - 1.2 mm; sepals 4 - 6, similar to bracts, 1 - 2.5 x 0.7 - 2 mm; ovary ovoid, 1 - 2 x 0.7 - 1.5 mm, glabrous, bilocular; styles 2, 2 - 3 mm long, recurved above. Fruits ovoid, obliquely ellipsoid or subglobose, tipped by remains of style, 7 - 9 x 6 - 8 mm, fleshy.
Fl. & Fr. Nov. - May.
Distrib. India: Shaded places in forests, at 500 – 2500 m altitude. Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.
Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar.
