Volume 2 > Part 4 > Year 1981 > Page 332 > Ebenaceae > Diospyros

25. Diospyros cauliflora Blumewfo-0000648659

Bijdr.: 668. 1826; Hiern, Trans. Camb. Phil. Soc. 12.1: 234. 1873; Bakh., Bull. Jard. Bot. Btzg Sér. 3. 15: 134. 1937; Ng, Mal. For. 40. 4: 215. 1977. Fig. 25.

Accepted Name : This is currently accepted.

Synonyms & Citations :

Description : Evergreen tree, up to 8 m high, twigs unarmed. Leaves oblong or lanceolate, 11–15 by 3–8 cm, base acute or slightly cuneate, apex cuspidate or caudate, chartaceous to subcoriaceous, glabrous on both surfaces; secondary nerves 8–12 pairs, arched and anastomosing well away from the margin, impressed on upper surface, prominent on lower surface; scalariform veins inconspicuous on lower surface; reticulate veins indistinct; petiole 5–10 mm long, pubescent later glabrescent. Male flowers cymose (usually tufted on trunk), 4(–5)-merous; pedicel 2–5 mm long, densely black-hairy. Calyx campanulate, ± 2 mm long, divided to two thirds, black-hairy outside, glabrous inside. Corolla ovoid or urceolate, 2–3 mm long, divided to a quarter; tomentose or woolly outside, glabrous inside. Stamens 16–20, pubescent. Rudimentary ovary hirsute. Female flowers cymose or solitary (usually on trunk), 4(–5)-merous; pedicel 2–3 mm long, pubescent. Calyx broadly campanulate, divided to half or to three fifths, pubescent outside, glabrous inside. Corolla ovoid or urceolate, divided to a thrid, woolly outside, glabrous inside. Ovary ovoid, tomentose, 6-locular; style solitary, tomentose. Staminodes 8–10, glabrous. Fruit on trunk and branches, ovoid or ellipsoid, 1.5–3 by 1.5–2.5 cm, leathery woody, glabrous, rounded or obtuse at both ends, minutely apiculate at apex; fruiting calyx divided to the base, pubescent on both sides; lobes reflexed and undulate but not plicate and with inconspicuous nerves; fruit-stalk 3–5 mm long; endosperm smooth.

Thailand : PENINSULAR: very widespread from Chumphon to Narathiwat.

Distribution : India, Burma, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malay Peninsula, Indonesia (type).

Ecology : In tropical rain forests, 50–800 m alt. Flowering: often in March–July; fruiting: often in May–September.

Vernacular : Tu-bo (ตูบอ)(Malay-Pattani); thao saen pom (ท้าวแสนปม).

Uses: Fruits used for dyeing nets and clothes.