Putranjiva roxburghii Wall., Tent. Fl. Napal. 61 (1826)
Named after W. Roxburgh [1751-1815], director of the Calcutta Botanical Garden [1793-1814] and writer of 'Flora Indica' which was published after his death.Notes
Often placed in the genus Drypetes.
Description
Trees up to 12 m tall. Bark dark grey with horizontal lenticels. Branches slender drooping; branchlets angular, pubescent when young.
Leaves simple, alternate, distichous; stipule triangular, acute, caducous; petiole 0.4-1 cm long, nearly glabrous, planoconvex in cross section;
lamina 5-9.5 x 1.5-3.5 cm, elliptic-oblong to elliptic-ovate, apex acute or slightly acuminate with blunt tip, base asymmetric, margin serrate,
chartaceous, dark green and shining, glabrous; midrib nearly flat above; secondary nerves 9-12 pairs, slender; tertiary_nerves reticulate.
Flower unisexual; male flowers in axillary clusters; female flowers axillary, solitary. Fruit a drupe, ellipsoid, with persistent style; seed 1.
Ecology
In dry evergreen and semi-evergreen forests, up to 600 m.
Uses
The leaves and fruits are used medicinally for the treatment of rheumatism. Cultivated as an ornamental.
Distribution
From Pakistan and India to New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
Local names
