Ixora coccinea L.
Family
Rubiaceae
Synonyms
Ixora montana Lour., Ixora grandiflora Loddiges.
Vernacular Names
|
English |
Red ixora. |
|
Indonesia |
Soka merah (General), kembang santen merah (Malay), soka beureum (Sundanese). |
|
Philippines |
Santan-pula, santan (Tagalog), tangpupo (Bisaya). |
|
Cambodia |
Kam ron tea. |
|
Thailand |
Khem baan, khem nuu (Bangkok), khem farang (Central). |
|
Vietnam |
B[oo]ng trang d[or], d[ow]n d[or]. |
Geographical Distributions
Ixora coccinea is native in India, widely cultivated in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand.
Description
Ixora coccinea is a shrub with many stems, measures up to 3 m tall and smooth.
The leaves are ovate to oblong or obovate, measuring 3.5-10 cm x 2-5 cm, with leathery texture, with subcordate or rounded base, obtuse or slightly acuminate at apex, mucronate, with 8-15 secondary veins, with absent or short petiole and long-awned stipules.
The inflorescence is sessile and densely corymb-shaped. The flowers are with triangular sepal lobes, measure about 3 mm long, acute and red, while the petal tube is 3-4.5 cm long, with lance-shaped or ovate-lance-shaped lobes, measures 1-1.5 cm long, acute, orange to scarlet or white, yellow or pink (mostly in cultivated plants), not fragrant and with exserted red style 3-4 mm long.
The fruit is spherical or so, about the size of a pea, reddish and fleshy.
Ecology / Cultivation
Ixora coccinea is cultivated in lowland areas but also at higher elevations.
Line Drawing / Photograph
References
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Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 12(1). 1998.
