Bridelia ovata Decne. in Nouv. Ann. Mus. Hist. Nat. 3: 484. 1834; Hook.f., Fl. Brit. India 5: 274. 1887. B. kurzii Hook.f., l. c. 272. 1887. B. curtisii Hook.f., l. c. 273. 1887. B. ovata var. curtisii (Hook.f.) Airy Shaw in Kew Bull. 26: 229. 1972.

Scandent shrubs, woody climbers or trees, up to 10 m tall, entirely glabrous. Leaves narrowly to broadly oblong, oblong-elliptic to elliptic, acute, obtuse to rounded or occasionally subcordate at base, entire to crenulate along margins, rounded, obtuse to subacute or apiculate at apex, 4 - 15 x 2 - 7 cm, chartaceous to coriaceous, often glossy above and glaucescent beneath; lateral nerves (5 -) 8 - 15 (- 20) pairs, mostly unbranched, terminating at margins into the marginal nerve; petioles 2 - 9 mm long. Inflorescences on main leafy branches, bisexual. Male flowers: pedicels ca 1.5 mm long; calyx 3 - 5 mm in diam., sepals triangular, 1.5 - 2.5 x 1 - 1.5 mm; petals ovate-orbicular or spathulate, 0.5 - 1 x 0.5 - 1 mm; disc ca 2 mm in diam., staminal column ca 1 mm long; filaments ca 0.6 mm long; anthers oblong-ellipsoid, ca 0.6 mm long; pistillode conical or ovoid, bilobed at apex, ca 0.8 mm long. Female flowers: sessile; calyx 4 - 5 mm in diam., sepals and petals as in male; outer disc ca 2 mm in diam., inner disc tubular, covering the ovary; ovary subglobose, ca 1 mm in diam., bilocular; styles ca 1 mm long, almost free, deeply bifid above. Fruits subsessile, subglobose or ovoid-subglobose, 5 - 9 mm in diam., slightly bilobed, blackish when dry; seeds 2.

Fl. & Fr. Sept. - May.

Distrib. India: Common, from coastal forests to inland forests on rocky or sandy soil, up to 200 m altitude. Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Java and Lesser Sunda Islands.