Psydrax dicoccos
| Psydrax dicoccos | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Gentianales |
| Family: | Rubiaceae |
| Subfamily: | Ixoroideae |
| Tribe: | Vanguerieae |
| Genus: | Psydrax |
| Species: | P. dicoccos |
| Binomial name | |
| Psydrax dicoccos Gaertn. | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Canthium dicoccum (Gaertn.) Merr. | |
Psydrax dicoccos is a species of flowering plant in the Rubiaceae family. It is found from southeast China to tropical Asia.
Botany
Commonly known as 'Ceylon box wood' or 'Malakafe', it is an unarmed, smooth shrub 3 to 4 meters 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 2-lobed.
Culture
Sinhala - පඩෙරු - panderu
Tamil - vatchikuran
External links
- World Checklist of Rubiaceae
- World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. Psydrax dicoccos. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 21 August 2007.