1212
Ficus drupacea Thunb.
Synonym
|
: |
Ficus drupacea var.
subrepanda (Wall. ex King) D.Basu
|
Family |
: |
Moraceae |
Local
name |
: |
Malayalam- .Kallal |
Flowering
and fruiting period |
: |
March-April |
Distribution |
. |
India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Laos |
Distribution
in Kerala |
: |
All Districts |
Habitat |
: |
Semi-evergreen and moist
deciduous forests, also in the plains |
Key botanical characters: Trees to 25 m high; aerial roots
often numerous, arising in tufts from the stout branches; bark surface
greyish-brown, smooth; exudation milky; young shoots brown pubescent. Leaves
simple, alternate, spiral, subdistichous, ovate or elliptic-ovate, apex
abruptly acuminate,base round or subcordate, margin entire, tender leaves
tomentose below, glabrous above and scurfy tomentose beneath when mature,
coriaceous; 3-5-ribbed from base, lateral nerves 9-13 pairs, parallel,
prominent beneath, intercostae reticulate, prominent; stipule lateral,
broadly lanceolate, tomentose; petiole 1.2-3.5 cm long, stout, grooved above,
glandular at apex below, tomentose. Flowers unisexual; inflorescence a
syconium, sessile, in axillary pairs, ellipsoid-globose, thick walled,
tomentose without, at first covered by stout conical tomentose stipule; basal
bracts 3,orbicular, concave, brown-pilose without, obtuse, orifice umbonate,
closed by 3-4 apical bracts, not forming a flat disc; internal bristles a
few; flowers of 4 kinds; male flowers disperse, numerous; pedicel to 4 mm
long; tepals 2-3, free, brown, acute; stamen 1, exserted; filament sessile;
tepals 3-4, free, brown, acute, ovary superior, obovoid, 0.7 mm, brown; style
filiform 2 mm; gall flowers pedicellate; pedicel 0.2-3.5 mm; tepals 3, free;
ovary obovoid; style short, subterminal. Syconium, orange red when ripe;
achene smooth. |