After reading a lot from older posts and literature I understood some
important points about Flacourtia genus............
1) It now belongs to Salicaceae and previously to Flacourtiaceae.
2) The flowers are without petals. Only sepals
3) Flowers are unisexual. Fruit is a berry.rather than a capsule as in
Casearia
(My pictures are probably showing only male flowers)
4) If one sees female flowers one has to look carefully for the stigma and
style to differentiate between the species.
5) There is a lot of confusion between F.indica and F. latifolia.
6) Acc. Flora of BSI Mah ;
Styles absent(stigma sessile)...F.latifolia
Styles distinct and conspicuous:
Tomentose young twigs; leaves turning brown on drying ....
F.montana
Glabrous young twigs; Leaves not turning brown ....
F.indica.
7)Cooke's Flora doesn't mention F.indica.
8) From Cooke's flora. the size of flower is a good additional
differentiating character.
Drupe size of a cherry; scarlet when ripe
...............................................................F. Montana
Drupe size of a plum; purple when ripe…………………………………………………………………F.cataphracta
Drupe size of a pea;
Stigmas 5-11………………………………………………………………………………………………………….F.Ramontchii
Stigmas 3-4……………………………………………………………………………………………………………F.latifolia
9) In all the above species the thorns do not bear flowers and fruits.Cooke
mentions about one species
which bears flowers and fruits on thorns as F.sepiaria
Now I have to go to the species and check for female flowers; check for the
young twigs to see whether they are glabrous ortomentose.....hmmmmm
and also take some leaves for drying to see whether they turn brown.I think
I had kept some twigs for 2 days which dried but did not turn brown.
Dr Phadke
On 23 January 2011 14:52, Satish Phadke <[email protected]> wrote:
> I think this is* Flacourtia latifolia* T.Cooke. Please validate.
> A small tree flowering presently (23 Jan 2010) on Vetal Tekdi Pune.
> Armed with sharp spines. Leaves ovate, obovate alternate with serrate
> margins red petiole.
> Flowers yellow with many stamens. No styles or stigmas visible. Size 0.5 cm
> or so. in small racemes.
> Dr Phadke
>
