Fagerlindia fasciculata (Roxb.) Tirveng.
Family
Rubiaceae
Synonyms
Gardenia fasciculata Roxb. ex Sprengel, Randia fasciculata (Roxb.) DC., Oxyceros fasciculata (Roxb.) Yamazaki.
Vernacular Names
| Malaysia | Akar duri, akar kuku lang (Peninsular). |
Geographical Distributions
F. fasciculata is distributed from the Himalayas of Nepal, Bhutan and northern India, through eastern India, Indo-China and Thailand, to Peninsular Malaysia.
Description
It is a shrub or small tree that can grow up to 6 m tall.
Leaves are arranged opposite, simple and entire, elliptical to ovate, 3-12 cm x 1.5-5 cm. Leaves are hairy below the veins with 4-9 pairs of secondary veins. Petiole is 3-10 mm long. The stipules are interpetiolar, narrowly triangular and cuspidate. Leaf axils are with 2 buds each, the upper ones are developing into spines of about 1 cm long.
Inflorescence is terminal, fasciculate, or solitary flowers. Flowers are bisexual, regular with 5-merous. The sepal is with short tube and narrow lobes and persistent. The petal is salver-shaped with the (1.5-)2.5-4.5 cm long tube and (0.6-)1.5-3 cm long lobes. It is contorted as a bud and hairy inside the tube. The stamens are inserted near the apex of the petal tube, filaments are very short, large anthers and exserted from the petal throat. The ovary is inferior with 2-celled, long style and with 2 large stigmas.
Fruit is a many-seeded spherical berry with a size of 1-1.5 cm in diametre. It is hairy, crowned by the sepal cup.
Seeds shape is like the segments of an orange and they are 5-7 mm long.
Ecology / Cultivation
In Peninsular Malaysia, F. fasciculata occurs in lowland and hill forest.
Line Drawing / Photograph
References
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Plant Resources of South-East Asia No.12(3): Medicinal and poisonous plants 3.
