Artabotrys hexapetalus (L.f.) Bhandari

Artabotrys hexapetalus (L.f.) Bhandari

Family

Annonaceae

Synonyms

Annona hexapetala L.f., Ar­tabotrys odoratissimus R.Br. ex. Ker Gawl., Artabotrys uncinatus (Lamk) Merr.

Vernacular Names

Malaysia

Kenanga china, kenanga bolok.

English

Climbing ylang-ylang.

Thai­land

Kradangngaa cheen (Central), sabanngaa cheen (Northern).

Vietnam

D[aa]y c[oo]ng ch[us]a, hoa m[os]ng r[oof]ng.

Geographical Distributions

Artabotrys hexapetalus is indigenous in southern India and Sri Lanka but later introduced throughout the Old World tropics. It is commonly cultivated in southern China, Indo-China, the Philippines and also in Java.

Description

Artabotrys hexapetalus is a climber or scandent shrub that can reach up to 8 m tall. Its young twigs are densely appressed and brown hairy while the old twigs are with many obtuse, thorny branches (hooked peduncles) of 1.5-6 cm long.

The leaves measure 5-25 cm x 2.5-8 cm, wedge-shaped at base, acute at apex, short- acuminate and with 0.4-0.8 cm long petiole.

The flower is solitary or in pairs on a straight peduncle but later thickened and recurved. The sepals are ovate-triangular, about 5 mm long and hairy outside. The outer petals measure 3.7-4.5 cm x 0.9-1.6 cm while the inner petals measure 3.2-4.2 cm x 0.9-1.2 cm, green turning bright yellow and with 20-30 carpels. The carpels are monocarp, obovoid, mucronate, 3.5-5 cm long, juicy, very fragrant and yellow.

Ecology / Cultivation

Artabotrys can be found in dry thickets and secondary forests as well as moist primary forests in gaps.

Line Drawing / Photograph

Artabotrys_hexapetalus

References

1.       Plant Resources of South-East Asia No.12(2): Medicinal and poisonous plants 2.