Shrubs or trees, monoecious, evergreen, glabrous or pubescent with simple, multicellular
hairs; branchlets usually anfractuous when young. Leaves simple, alternate or distichous,
symmetrical or asymmetrical, entire, penninerved, short petiolate; stipules subpersistent.
Inflorescences axillary or occasionally slightly to markedly supra-axillary and/or pedunculate,
fasciculate, unisexual or bisexual, few to many-flowered, often leafless when in fruiting simulating
racemose inflorescences. Male flowers: pedicellate; sepals 3 + (2 -) 3, free, imbricate; petals and
disc absent; stamens 3 - 8, usually sessile with filaments connate into an oblong mass; antherthecae
linear and longitudinally dehiscent; connectives produced into an erect appendage;
pistillode absent. Female flowers: sessile or shortly pedicellate; calyx with 3 + (2 or) 3 free sepals
or occasionally connate into a cupular, campanulate or obconic structure with 3 - 6 irregular
lobes, imbricate; petals and disc absent; staminodes absent; ovary 3 - 15-locular, each locule
biovulate; styles as many as the locules, usually connate into a columnar or clavate or sometimes
conical, globose, turbinate or obconic structure, toothed or lobed at the apex or occasionally
free and filiform, triangular, oblong, deltoid or globose and erect to connivent. Fruits capsular,
seated on the non-accrescent calyx and crowned by the style column, usually depressed or
sometimes subglobose, 3 - 15-locular, unlobed or shallowly to deeply lobed with the lobes
rounded to bilobulate, crustaceous or coriaceous; seeds 3 - 15, usually triquetrous or
hemispherical, laterally compressed, with a red arillate coat; albumen fleshy; cotyledons flat.
Tropical Asia to Northern Australia and Polynesia, a few species in Madagascar and
tropical America, ca 320 species; 22 species in India.
Literature.
CHAKRABARTY, T. & M. GANGOPADHYAY (1995). The genus Glochidion
(Euphorbiaceae) in the Indian subcontinent. J. Econ. Taxon. Bot. 19(1): 173 - 234.
Notes.
The chromosome numbers of the 6 species investigated so far have the haploid
number of n = 26. The genus is thus based on x = 13.
The pollen grains are stephanocolporate with 4 apertures, spheroidal to prolate spheroidal
in shape; P X E = 25 x 25 μm; P/E = 1.06 μm; colpus narrow, slit-like, endoaperture circular or
lolongate. Exine reticulate (Punt, Wentia 7: 1 - 116. 1962).
KEY TO THE SPECIES
| 1a. Branchlets and or under surface of leaves pubescen
|
2
|
| b. Branchlets and or under surface of leaves glabrous
|
13
|
| b. nflorescences axillary and sessile
|
3
|
| 3 a. Fruits unlobed or obscurely lobed
|
4
|
| b. Fruits shallowly to deeply lobed
|
5
|
| 4 a. Male pedicels 10 - 20 mm long; fruits indehiscent, 10 - 18 mm in diam. with 8 - 10 longitudinal
grooves
|
17.
Glochidion oblatum
|
| b. Male pedicels up to 10 mm long; fruits dehiscent, mostly up to 10 mm in diam.
|
22.
Glochidion zeylanicum
|
| 5a . Female calyx cupular, campanulate or obconic, with 4 - 6 irregular lobes
|
6
|
| b. Female calyx not as above, comprising of (5 -) 6 more or less free sepals
|
7
|
| 6 a. Leaves entirely glabrous; styles connate into a clavate, turbinate or obconic structure, usually
with stout apical lobes
|
5.
Glochidion candolleanum
|
| b. Leaves sparsely pilose on major nerves beneath; styles connate into a subglobose mass or
sometimes free and deltoid, triangular or globose
|
10.
Glochidion hohenackeri
|
| 7 a. Ovary and fruits 8 - 12 (- 15)-locular
|
8
|
| b. Ovary and fruits 3 - 6-locular
|
9
|
| 8 a. Leaves often glaucescent beneath; tertiary nerves conspicuous on upper surface; style distinct,
forming a ring, 0.2 – 0.5 mm long; fruits pedicellate
|
16.
Glochidion multiloculare
|
| b. Leaves not glaucescent beneath; tertiary nerves inconspicuous on the upper surface; styles
connate into a cone, ca 1 mm long; fruits sessile
|
6.
Glochidion coccineum
|
| b. Leaves beneath puberulous at least on midrib
|
10
|
| b. Leaves conspicuously glaucous at least on the under surface; minor nervules inconspicuous or
faint but never raised beneath
|
11
|
| 11 a. Leaves rounded, obtuse, truncate or apiculate at apex; fruits 13 – 16 mm in diam.
|
2.2.
Glochidion andamanicum
|
| b. Leaves mostly caudate or acuminate or often apiculate at apex; fruits 5 – 12 mm in diam.
|
12
|
| 12a. Leaves narrowly lanceolate, whitish beneath when dry; hairs on the lower surface appressed;
male pedicels 5 - 8 mm long; fruits 6 – 8 mm in diam.
|
1.
Glochidion acuminatum
|
| b. Leaves not narrow, ovate, obovate or broadly elliptic; hairs on the lower surface erect or
ascending; male pedicels 8 - 12 mm long; fruits 8 -12 mm in diam.
|
18.
Glochidion nubigenum
|
| 13a. Inflorescence supra-axillary and/or pedunculate
|
14
|
| b. Inflorescences axillary and sessile
|
16
|
| b. Fruits prominently lobed
|
15
|
| 15a. Leaves glossy; styles columnar or conical, longer than broad; fruits 15 - 30 mm in diam.
|
14.
Glochidion lanceolarium
|
| b. Leaves not glossy; styles turbinate, subglobose or cylindric, as long as broad; fruits up to 10
mm in diam.
|
3.
Glochidion bourdillonii
|
| 16a. Female calyx cupular, campanulate or obconic with 4 - 6 irregular lobes
|
17
|
| b. Female calyx not as above, comprising of (5 -) 6, more or less free sepals
|
18
|
| 17a. Styles connate into clavate, turbinate or obconic structures, usually with stout apical lobes
|
5.
Glochidion candolleanum
|
| b. Styles connate into a subglobose mass or sometimes free and deltoid, triangular or globose
|
17.
Glochidion hohenackeri
|
| b. Fruits shallowly to deeply lobed
|
19
|
| 19a. Ovary and fruits 8 - 15-locular
|
20
|
| b. Ovary and fruits 3 - 7-locular
|
22
|
| b. Tertiary nerves of leaves not as above; styles connate
|
21
|
| 21a. Plants of coastal habitats; leaves mostly obovate to orbicular, obtuse, rounded to emarginate
at apex; ovary and fruits 10 – 14-locular
|
15.
Glochidion littorale
|
| b. Plants not of coastal habitats; leaves mostly oblong, elliptic to lanceolate, apiculate to acuminate
at apex; ovary and fruits 5 – 8-locular
|
14.
Glochidion lanceolarium
|
| b. Fruits 4 - 18 mm in diam.
|
23
|
| b. Styles columnar, conical, clavate or obconic
|
25
|
| 25a. Fruits shallowly lobed
|
26
|
| b. Fruits deeply lobed
|
27
|
| b. Fruiting pedicels 1 - 6 mm long or fruits sessile
|
28
|
| 28a. Fruits 14 - 18 mm in diam. (species of Andaman Islands)
|
29
|
| b. Fruits 6 - 15 mm in diam. (species outside Andaman Islands)
|
31
|
| b. Styles columnar to subconical
|
30
|
| b. Anthers 5 or 6; sepals glabrous; styles 2 - 3 mm long; fruiting pedicels 0.5 - 3 mm long
|
20.
Glochidion subsessile
|
