1388

                       Daphniphyllum neilgherrense (Wight) K.Rosenthal

Synonym	:	Daphniphyllum glaucescens var. concolor Müll.Arg.
Family	:	Daphniphyllaceae
Local name	:	English- Nilgiri Daphne-Leaf Malayalam-  Vellakottlan,Kozhikkulamavu,Peekkiri
Flowering and fruiting period	:	January-June
Distribution	:	Indo-Malesia
Distribution in Kerala	:	Idukki, Thiruvananthapuram, Wayanad
Habitat	:	Evergreen and shola forest margins, Along the margin of high altitude evergreen forests from 1500 to 2200 m.
Key botanical characters: Trees, to 15 m, bark surface greyish-brown, smooth; blaze yellow; exudation milky; branchlets stout. Leaves simple, alternate, clustered at the tip of branchlets, estipulate; petiole 5-25 mm, slender, glabrous; lamina 3.5-12 x 1.5-5 cm, obovate, elliptic-obovate or obovate-oblong, base acute, apex acute or obtuse, margin entire, revolute, glabrous above and glaucous beneath, coriaceous; lateral nerves 5-10 pairs, slender, faint, intercostae reticulate, faint. Flowers unisexual, yellowish-green, in axillary racemes; male flowers: bracts 3 x 3 mm, ovate, obtuse, ciliate; tepals 5, minute; stamens 5-12, free; anthers oblong; connective apiculate; female flowers: bracteate, perianth similar to male flowers; ovary superior, imperfectly 2-celled; ovules 2 in each cell; stigmas thick, recurved, undivided. Fruit a drupe, 10-12 mm long, ovoid, greenish-red.