Volume 2 > Part 4 > Year 1981 > Page 319 > Ebenaceae > Diospyros

19. Diospyros rubra Lecomtewfo-0000649663

Notul. Syst. (Paris) 4: 100. 1928; Lecomte in Fl. Gén. I.-C. 3: 927. 1930. Fig. 19.

Accepted Name : Diospyros defectrix H.R.Fletcher
Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1937: 384. 1937; in Fl. Siam. En. 2: 368. 1938.

Synonyms & Citations :

Description : Evergreen tree up to 5 m high. Leaves (ovate-) oblong to lanceolate, 6–16 by 2–7 cm, base acute, obtuse or rounded, apex cuspidate with blunt tip, sometimes acute or obtuse, subcoriaceous to coriaceous, glabrous on upper surface, pubescent then glabrescent on lower surface; secondary nerves 8–12 pairs, arched and anastomosing well away from the margin, ± impressed on upper surface, prominent on lowersurface; scalariform veins conspicuous on lower surface; petiole 0.5–1 cm long, pubescent, glabrescent. Male flowers cymose, 4-merous, sessile or subsessile. Calyx broadly campanulate, 2–3 mm long, divided to two thirds or to the base, sericeous outside, pubescent inside. Corolla urceolate, 3–4 mm long, divided to one third; glabrous on both sides except outside along the mid-line of the lobes down to the tube. Stamens 16–18, glabrous. Rudimentary ovary hirsute. Female flowers solitary, 4(–5)-merous, sessile or subsessile. Calyx and Corolla as in male flowers but larger and corolla divided to half way. Ovary globose, sericeous, 4-locular; style single, sericeous. Staminodes absent. Fruit sessile, ellipsoid, 1–2.5 by 1–2 cm, woody, epicarp 2 mm thick or more, glabrous, base rounded, apex acute or obtuse with short apiculus; fruiting-calyx divided to the base, pubescent outside, pubescent or woolly inside, accrescent; lobes reflexed, not plicate nor undulate, with inconspicuous nerves; endosperm ruminate.

Thailand : NORTHERN: Nakhon Sawan; EASTERN: Nakhon Ratchasima; CENTRAL: Lop Buri; SOUTH-EASTERN: Chanthaburi, Chon Buri; SOUTH-WESTERN: Prachuap Khiri Khan; PENINSULAR: Chumphon, Surat Thani.

Distribution : S China, Vietnam, Cambodia (type).

Ecology : On limestone hill in dry evergreen forests, 10–500 m alt. Flowering: May–July; fruiting: July–November.

Vernacular : Fai (ไฟ), makkua ka (มะเกือกา)(Eastern); slang tua phu (สล่างตัวผู้)(Southeastern); dam dong (ดำดง)(Southwestern).