Psydrax dicoccos
Psydrax dicoccos is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is found from southeast China to tropical Asia.
Psydrax dicoccos | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Gentianales |
Family: | Rubiaceae |
Genus: | Psydrax |
Species: | P. dicoccos |
Binomial name | |
Psydrax dicoccos | |
Synonyms | |
Canthium dicoccum (Gaertn.) Merr. |
Botany
Commonly known as 'Ceylon box wood' or 'malakafe', it is an unarmed, smooth shrub 3 to 4 metres (9.8 to 13.1 ft) or more in height. Leaves are extremely variable, ovate, elliptic, ovate or somewhat rounded, 5 to 15 centimeters long, 1.5 to 10 centimeters wide, leathery, shining above, and usually pointed at both ends. Flowers are white, with very slender stalks, 5 to 10 millimeters long, and borne in compressed, short-stalked cymes. Calyx is cut off at the end or obscurely toothed. Corolla is bell-shaped, with a 4- to 6-millimeter tube, and five somewhat pointed lobes. Fruit is rounded, ellipsoid or obovoid, 6 to 10 millimeters long, slightly flattened and obscurely two-lobed.
References
- World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1998). "Psydrax dicoccos". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1998: e.T32604A9716556. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1998.RLTS.T32604A9716556.en. Retrieved 16 November 2021.