Cissus trilobata
Lam., Encycl. 1: 31. 1783. Vitis rheedei Wight
& Arn., Prodr. Fl. Penins. Ind. Orient. 127. 1834; M. Lawson in Fl. Brit
India 1: 6S3. 1875. nom. illegit. Purio trilobata (Lam.) Nair in Biol. Land.
Pl. 127. 1972.
Climbing shrubs; branches terete, subfleshy, glabrous; tendrils stout,
simple. Leaves 3-foliolate or 3-lobed, glabrous; petioles 3.5-6 cm long; terminal
leaflets elliptic-lanceolate, 8-15 x 2.5 -4 cm, acute-acuminate at apex, attenuate
at base, bristly-serrate at margins; petiolules ca 4 mm long; lateral leaflets
subsessile, oblique at base, otherwise as in temrinal leaflets. Inflorescences
divaricate, subumbellate cymes, 2.5-4 cm long; peduncles ca 1 cm long. Flowers
ca 2.5 mm long; pedicels 2-3 mm long. Calyx saucer-shaped, subtruncate,
glabrous. Petals oblong ovate, ca 2 x 1 mm, acute, hooded, glabrous. Stamens
ca 1.5 mm long; filaments flattened; anthers oblong. Disc 4-lobed, enclosing
ovary. Ovary ca 1.5 mm across; style stout; stigma subcapitate. Berries obovoid,
6-7 mm across, black, 1-seeded. Seeds ca 6 x 4 mm, mucronate, slightly
laterally compressed, smooth except for the ridged raphe encircling longitudinally
and the 2 shallow pits at base.
Fl. & Fr. : May - March.
Distrib. India : Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Lakshadweep.
Sri Lanka.
Notes. Chromosome number 2n=24 [Vatsala, P. in La Cellule (Louvain) 61: 193-205. 1960].
Nair On Puri, V. et al., Biol. Land Pl. 127. 1974) erected a new genus, Puria to accomodate this species mainly on the basis of an embryological peculiarity. But morphological features and cytological data support its placement in the genus Cissus.
Fl. & Fr. : May - March.
Distrib. India : Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Lakshadweep.
Sri Lanka.
Notes. Chromosome number 2n=24 [Vatsala, P. in La Cellule (Louvain) 61: 193-205. 1960].
Nair On Puri, V. et al., Biol. Land Pl. 127. 1974) erected a new genus, Puria to accomodate this species mainly on the basis of an embryological peculiarity. But morphological features and cytological data support its placement in the genus Cissus.