Pamburus missionis
(Wallich ex Wight) Swingle in J. Wash. Acad. Sci. 6: 338. 1916 & Citrus Ind. 1: 263. 1967. Limonia missionis Wallich (Num. List No. 6358. 1832, nom. nud.) ex Wight in Wight & Arn., Prodr. 92. 1834. Atalantia missionis (Wallich ex Wight) Oliver in J. Linn. Soc. Bot. 5. Suppl. 2: 25. 1861; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 1: 513. 1875.
Tam.: Kuruntu.
Shrubs or small trees, up to 12 m high, evergreen, spinous, profusely branching; branchlets cylindric, smooth, angular when young, older ones armed with sharp, solitary (or sometimes in pairs) spines (ca 3 cm long); bark grey, longitudinally fissured, lenticellate. Leaves simple, alternate; petioles short, to 15 mm long, marginate, glabrous; leaf blades oblong-elliptic or elliptic, broadly cuneate and slightly oblique at base, rounded or sometimes slightly emarginate at apex, entire or minutely crenulate along margins, 4.5 - 12.5 x 2 - 5.5 cm, glandular-punctate; gland-dots more prominent above, dark greenish above, pale green beneath, glabrous; secondary nerves 6 - 8 pairs, slender, horizontal, indistinct, prominulent beneath on drying; tertiaries obscure. Inflorescences axillary and from uppermost leaf axils (pseudoterminal), racemose-paniculate, up to 3 cm long, few-to many-flowered, glabrous; pedicels slender, to 4 mm long, glabrous. Flowers bisexual, ca 2 cm across, fragrant. Sepals 4 or 5, deltoid, acute, ca 1.5 mm long, glandular, glabrous. Petals 4 or 5, oblong-lanceolate or oblong-obovate, acute or obtuse, recurved, 3.5 - 6.5 x ca 2.5 mm, prominently nerved, glandular, glabrous, pure white. Stamens 8 or 10, subequal, ca 5 mm long; filaments subulate, slender, glabrous; anthers linear-oblong, obtuse, cordate below, ca 2 mm long. Disk obscure. Ovary subglobose or oblong-ellipsoid, ca 1 mm long, less than 1 mm across, smooth, glandular, stipitate below, 4- or 5-locular; each locule with 2 ovules; style ca 2.5 mm long, glandular, glabrous; stigma capitate or truncate, glandular. Berries globose, 5- or 4-locular, ca 2.5 cm across; pericarp thick, orange-coloured when ripe, densely glandular; each locule with 1 or 2 seeds, surrounded by a gelatinous-mucilage; seeds globose or ellipsoid.
Fl. March - April; Fr. Aug. - Sept.
Distrib. India: Dry coastal scrub jungles. Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Occasionally cultivated.
Sri Lanka.
Notes. Wood is yellowish-white, moderately hard, close-grained and used for furniture and cabinet work.
Ghosh et al.'s (J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 68: 851 - 852. 1971) reported occurrence of this species in Burdwan district, W. Bengal was probably based on a cultivated tree.
Shrubs or small trees, up to 12 m high, evergreen, spinous, profusely branching; branchlets cylindric, smooth, angular when young, older ones armed with sharp, solitary (or sometimes in pairs) spines (ca 3 cm long); bark grey, longitudinally fissured, lenticellate. Leaves simple, alternate; petioles short, to 15 mm long, marginate, glabrous; leaf blades oblong-elliptic or elliptic, broadly cuneate and slightly oblique at base, rounded or sometimes slightly emarginate at apex, entire or minutely crenulate along margins, 4.5 - 12.5 x 2 - 5.5 cm, glandular-punctate; gland-dots more prominent above, dark greenish above, pale green beneath, glabrous; secondary nerves 6 - 8 pairs, slender, horizontal, indistinct, prominulent beneath on drying; tertiaries obscure. Inflorescences axillary and from uppermost leaf axils (pseudoterminal), racemose-paniculate, up to 3 cm long, few-to many-flowered, glabrous; pedicels slender, to 4 mm long, glabrous. Flowers bisexual, ca 2 cm across, fragrant. Sepals 4 or 5, deltoid, acute, ca 1.5 mm long, glandular, glabrous. Petals 4 or 5, oblong-lanceolate or oblong-obovate, acute or obtuse, recurved, 3.5 - 6.5 x ca 2.5 mm, prominently nerved, glandular, glabrous, pure white. Stamens 8 or 10, subequal, ca 5 mm long; filaments subulate, slender, glabrous; anthers linear-oblong, obtuse, cordate below, ca 2 mm long. Disk obscure. Ovary subglobose or oblong-ellipsoid, ca 1 mm long, less than 1 mm across, smooth, glandular, stipitate below, 4- or 5-locular; each locule with 2 ovules; style ca 2.5 mm long, glandular, glabrous; stigma capitate or truncate, glandular. Berries globose, 5- or 4-locular, ca 2.5 cm across; pericarp thick, orange-coloured when ripe, densely glandular; each locule with 1 or 2 seeds, surrounded by a gelatinous-mucilage; seeds globose or ellipsoid.
Fl. March - April; Fr. Aug. - Sept.
Distrib. India: Dry coastal scrub jungles. Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Occasionally cultivated.
Sri Lanka.
Notes. Wood is yellowish-white, moderately hard, close-grained and used for furniture and cabinet work.
Ghosh et al.'s (J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 68: 851 - 852. 1971) reported occurrence of this species in Burdwan district, W. Bengal was probably based on a cultivated tree.
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