440

Sarcostigma kleinii Wight & Arn.

Family	:	Icacinaceae
Local name	:	Malayalam- Vellodal
Flowering and fruiting period	:	February-June
Distribution	:	Indo-Malesia
Distribution in Kerala	:	All Districts
Habitat	:	Evergreen and semi-evergreen forests
Uses	:	Fruits are eaten and also used in rheumatism. Seeds yield fatty oil which is esteemed as a cure for rheumatism, but is reported to be injurious to eyes. Powdered bark mixed with honey is given in rheumatism, leprosy, hysterics and ulcers.
Key botanic Key botanical characters:  Woody climbers, branchlets glabrous. Leaves simple, alternate, 17-22 x 8-12 cm, oblong-lanceolate, apex acuminate, base rounded or obtuse; lateral nerves 8 pairs, reticulate; petiole 5-12 cm long. Spikes to 35 cm long,slender, axillary or from tubercles. Flowers 3-6 together, yellow. Calyx cupular, 2 mm across, 5-toothed. Petals 3-5 mm long, oblong,recurved. Stamens 5, anthers versatile, staminodes 5. Female flowers mostly from old wood, ovary 1-celled, densely hairy; stigma sessile, discoid; pistillode in male flowers conical. Drupe to 3 x 1.5 cm, ovoid, orange-yellow, glabrous. Woody