Mallotus tetracoccus

Last updated

Mallotus tetracoccus
Mallotus tetracoccus young leaf twig DSC1616.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Genus: Mallotus
Species:
M. tetracoccus
Binomial name
Mallotus tetracoccus
Synonyms
  • Mallotus albus var. occidentalisHook.f.
  • Mallotus ferrugineus(Roxb.) Müll.Arg.
  • Rottlera ferrugineaRoxb.
  • Rottlera tetracoccaRoxb.

Mallotus tetracoccus, also known as the rusty kamala, [1] is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae. It is a tree species found in parts of south Asia, typically occurring in the edges of tropical wet evergreen and semi-evergreen forests. [2] [3]

Contents

Description

This is a distinctive mid-sized or mid-storey tree species growing up to around 15 m tall. The bark is 5–8 mm thick with a grey surface, smooth and fibrous. The tree gains its rusty or coppery-white appearance from the colours of the branchlets, young parts, and undersides of leaves. The branchlets and young parts are densely grey or tawny tomentose (hairy) and the young parts are covered by rusty lepidote scales. The underside of leaves is velvety white due to stellate hairs, contrasting with the bright green and glabrous upper surface. The thinly leathery leaves are simple, alternate, and spirally arranged on the twigs. The lamina is 8–25 cm long x 6.5–20 cm broad, and variable in shape from young saplings to large trees, ranging from more or less circular to deltoid or broadly egg-shaped. The leaf apex is acuminate, and the base truncate, nearly heart-shaped or round. The leaves are peltate (prominently in young plants, more narrowly in adult trees). The leaf margin is entire or glandular dentate (toothed or lobed). The leaves are usually prominently 3-5 ribbed from base, with lateral nerves 6-8 pairs, the tertiary nerves running nearly horizontal. The stipules are lateral and fall off, while the leaf also has a long petiole (4.5–10 cm) which is stout and swollen at the base, stellate tomentose along the length, and with two glands at the top. [2] [3]

The species is dioecious (unisexual) with male and female flowers on different individual trees. The inflorescences are terminal, branched, panicles about 12–20 cm long, on stout peduncles, holding rusty tomentose buds and yellow or yellowish-white flowers. The male flowers are 7 mm across, with 4 tepals (2 mm) and ovate containing many stamens (filaments to 3 mm). Female flowers are 5 mm across and with 4 tepals (2 mm). The ovary is tomentose, often 4-loculed, and the style, often 4 (or 5), is about 3 mm long and feathery. The fruiting pedicel is about 5 mm long attached to a fruit (1 cm in diameter) which is a depressed roundish capsule covered in gray tomentose and softly spiny stellate hairs. The seeds (ca. 5 mm) are blackish brown, rounded and wedge shaped (angular). [2] [3] [4]

Taxonomy

The following are recognized as synonyms of Mallotus tetracoccus: Mallotus albus var. occidentalis Hook.f., Mallotus ferrugineus (Roxb.) Müll.Arg., Rottlera ferruginea Roxb., and Rottlera tetracocca Roxb. [5]

Local names

The species is known in several languages across its range, including (in alphabetical order of the language): Loru-bondha/Morolia (Assamese), [6] Marleya (Bengali), [4] Laidolor biphang (Bodo), [6] Ilikambo (Idu Mishmi), [6] Uppale (Kannada), Upper Myanmar: Petwaing, [4] Bu kenda (බූ කැන්ද; Sinhala), Mullupolavu, Vatta (Tamil), [7] Thavatta/Vatta/Vattakkumbil/Kazhuvakkaradi/Porivatta (Malayalam). [7] [8]

Distribution and habitat

The species occurs in India (Northeast India and South India), Sri Lanka, Upper Myanmar, [2] Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh (Chittagong Hill Tracts), Thailand, and south-central China. [9] Within the Western Ghats of India, it is distributed from the Konkan southwards [4] in semi-evergreen to evergreen and shola forests, from the plains to about 1600 m elevation. [2] It also occurs in peninsular hills such as the Shevaroy Hills and Kollimalai Hills of southern India in evergreen and secondary forests. [7] In northern India, Brandis notes the species is distributed in the outer ranges and valleys of the Sikkim Himalaya ascending to 3,000 feet (914 m), common in second growth forest. In Sri Lanka, it is common in the moist low country. [4]

Ecology

Mallotus tetracoccus is a pioneer or early-successional [10] or early-secondary [11] tree species more common in forest edges, clearings, and secondary forests than in mature forest interiors. Ecophysiological studies indicate that Mallotus tetracoccus shows higher quantum use efficiency of photosynthetic system (FV/FM) at higher light conditions, with FV/FM values of 0.7407, 0.8140, 0.8020, and 0.7825 at light regimes of 10%, 25%, 50%, and 100%, respectively. [11] Similarly, the species also shows higher relative growth rate (RGR, mg g−1 day−1) in higher light conditions, with RGR values under 10%, 25%, 50%, and 100% light regimes being 5.38, 30.01, 47.38, and 50.02, respectively. The combination of high quantum use efficiency of photosynthetic system and relative growth rates under higher light conditions, similar in pattern to other pioneer species such as Macaranga peltata , indicate the early-successional nature of Mallotus tetracoccus. [11] Adults and saplings are also known to occur in the understorey of Eucalyptus plantations in the Western Ghats. [12]

As a dioecious species, a male-biased flowering sex ratio (male: female = 1.73) was reported among trees in a 20 ha plot of tropical forest at Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve in Yunnan, south-west China. [13] In tropical wet evergreen forests of the southern Western Ghats, India, the tree has been reported to be an edge or gap species whose fruits are consumed and seeds are dispersed by birds . [14] The species has also been noted a wind-pollinated species showing diurnal anthesis. [15] The flowers and seeds of Mallotus tetracoccus are reported as consumed by lion-tailed macaques in a tropical rainforest fragment in the Anaimalai hills, India. [16]

Conservation

Toxicity

Uses

The leaves are used in sericulture. [6] The plant is known for its medicinal properties in Ayurvedic and in folk/traditional medicine. Bark and gum of the tree is used for treating fractures and venereal diseases. [17] Also used as firewood in some parts. [6]


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve</span> International biosphere reserve of India

The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve is a biosphere reserve in the Nilgiri mountains of the Western Ghats in South India. It is the largest protected forest area in India, spreading across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. It includes the protected areas Mudumalai National Park, Mukurthi National Park, Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu; Nagarhole National Park, Bandipur National Park, both in Karnataka; Silent Valley National Park, Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary, Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, and Karimpuzha Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala.

<i>Madhuca longifolia</i> Species of tree

Madhuca longifolia is an Indian tropical tree found largely in the central, southern, north Indian plains and forests, Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. It is commonly known as madhūka, madkam, mahuwa, Butter Tree, mahua, mahwa, mohulo, Iluppai, Mee or vippa chettu. It is a fast-growing tree that grows to approximately 20 meters in height, possesses evergreen or semi-evergreen foliage, and belongs to the family Sapotaceae. It is adaptable to arid environments, being a prominent tree in tropical mixed deciduous forests in India in the states of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

<i>Anacolosa densiflora</i> Species of flowering plant

Anacolosa densiflora is a species of plant in the Olacaceae family. Currently, it is an endangered species that is endemic to India.

<i>Gluta travancorica</i> Species of flowering plant

Gluta travancorica is a species of plant in the family Anacardiaceae. It is endemic to the southern Western Ghats in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orophea thomsonii</span> Species of flowering plant

Orophea thomsonii or Thomson's Turret Flower is a species of shrub or small tree in the Annonaceae family. It is native to Kerala and Tamil Nadu in India and endemic to the Western Ghats mountain range.

<i>Palaquium ravii</i> Species of flowering plant

Palaquium ravii is a species of tree in the family Sapotaceae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats mountains and native to Kerala and Tamil Nadu in India.

<i>Phyllanthus anamalayanus</i> Species of flowering plant

Phyllanthus anamalayanus is a species of plant in the family Phyllanthaceae. It is endemic to the Anamalai Hills in Coimbatore district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The species is a shrub or small tree occurring in the understorey of mid-elevation tropical wet evergreen forests in the Anamalai Hills, and is endemic to the Western Ghats. It is threatened by habitat loss.

<i>Syzygium densiflorum</i> Species of flowering plant

Syzygium densiflorum is a species of evergreen tree in the family Myrtaceae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats mountains, India. The species is categorised as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List.

<i>Macaranga peltata</i> Species of pioneer tree from Asia

Macaranga peltata is a plant found in northern Thailand, Sri Lanka and India. It is one of the most widely occurring early successional woody species in Sri Lanka, specially in low country wet zone. Some of the many common names include kenda - කැන්ද or kanda in Sri Lanka and chandada in India.

<i>Mallotus philippensis</i> Species of plant

Mallotus philippensis is a plant in the spurge family. It is known as the kamala tree or red kamala or kumkum tree, due to the fruit covering, which produces a red dye. However, it must be distinguished from kamala meaning "lotus" in many Indian languages, an unrelated plant, flower, and sometimes metonymic spiritual or artistic concept. Mallotus philippensis has many other local names. This kamala often appears in rainforest margins. Or in disturbed areas free from fire, in moderate to high rainfall areas.

<i>Diospyros candolleana</i> Species of flowering plant

Diospyros candolleana, is a tree in the Ebony family, endemic to the Western Ghats of India and Sri Lanka. The trees are usually 20m tall, and found as subcanopy trees in wet evergreen forests up to 90m.

<i>Dipterocarpus bourdillonii</i> Species of tree

Dipterocarpus bourdillonii is a species of large tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae endemic to the Western Ghats principally in the state of Kerala in India. It is a Critically Endangered species according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is a characteristic tree of the low-elevation tropical wet evergreen rainforests in the Western Ghats.

<i>Cullenia exarillata</i> Species of flowering plant

Cullenia exarillata is a flowering plant evergreen tree species in the family Malvaceae endemic to the rainforests of the southern Western Ghats in India. It is one of the characteristic trees of the mid-elevation tropical wet evergreen rainforests and an important food plant for the endemic primate, the lion-tailed macaque.

<i>Bhesa indica</i> Species of flowering plant

Bhesa indica is a flowering plant tree species in the Centroplacaceae family. It is distributed along the tropical wet evergreen forests of the Western Ghats of India. It is considered synonymous with Bhesa paniculata by some authors.

<i>Trema tomentosa</i> Species of shrub

Trema tomentosa, commonly known as poison peach, is a shrub or tree in the family Cannabaceae native to the Indian subcontinent, south east Asia, through the islands of the south west Pacific, and the east coast and northern half of Australia.

Getonia is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Combretaceae. Its native range is India, Assam to Peninsula Malaysia.

<i>Baccaurea courtallensis</i> Species of flowering plant from the Western Ghats, in India

Baccaurea courtallensis is a flowering plant evergreen tree species belonging to the family Phyllanthaceae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats mountains in India. It is a medium size understory tree frequent in tropical wet evergreen forests of the low and mid-elevations (40-1000m). It is a Near Threatened species according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

<i>Cryptocarya anamalayana</i> Species of tree

Cryptocarya anamalayana is a rare rainforest tree endemic to the southern Western Ghats, India. The specific epithet of the name refers to the Anamalai Hills, a major area of its distribution. The species considered endangered under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

<i>Diospyros paniculata</i>

Diospyros paniculata, or the panicle-flowered ebony, is a species of tree in the ebony family. Endemic to the Western Ghats area of India and parts of Bangladesh, the species is currently listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List.

<i>Drypetes wightii</i> Species of tree

Drypetes wightii is an evergreen tree species endemic to the Western Ghats, India. The species is considered Vulnerable under the IUCN Redlist of Threatened Species.

References

  1. ↑ "Mallotus tetracoccus - Rusty Kamala". www.flowersofindia.net. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Mallotus tetracoccus - EUPHORBIACEAE". www.biotik.org. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
  3. 1 2 3 "Mallotus tetracoccus (Roxb.) Kurz". India Biodiversity Portal. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Brandis, Dietrich (1906). Indian trees: an account of trees, shrubs, woody climbers, bamboos and palms indigenous or commonly cultivated in the British Indian empire. London: Archibald Constable and Co. Ltd. (1990 reprint Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh). pp.  164. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.50463. ISBN   978-81-211-0051-9.
  5. ↑ "Mallotus tetracoccus (Roxb.) Kurz — The Plant List". www.theplantlist.org. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Page, Navendu; Datta, Aparajita; Basu, Bibidishananda (2022). Trees of Arunachal Pradesh: A field guide. Bangalore: Nature Conservation Foundation. pp. 302–303. ISBN   9788195466344.
  7. 1 2 3 Gamble, J. S., and C. E. C. Fischer (1915–1935). Flora of the Presidency of Madras, Parts I to XI. (3 volumes). Adlard and Son Limited, London.
  8. ↑ Nayar, T. S.; Beegam, A. Rasiya; Sibi, M. (2014). Flowering plants of the Western Ghats, India. Vol. 1 Dicots. Thiruvananthapuram, India: Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute. p. 261. ISBN   978-81-920098-2-7.
  9. ↑ "Mallotus tetracoccus". www.asianplant.net. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
  10. ↑ Chetana, H. C.; Ganesh, T. (2012-03-01). "Importance of shade trees (Grevillea robusta) in the dispersal of forest tree species in managed tea plantations of southern Western Ghats, India". Journal of Tropical Ecology. 28 (2): 187–197. doi:10.1017/S0266467411000721. ISSN   1469-7831.
  11. 1 2 3 Sreejith, K. A. 2005. Ecological and Ecophysiological studies on the successional status of tree seedlings in tropical wet evergreen and semi-evergreen forests of Kerala. PhD Thesis, Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun. 148 pages.
  12. ↑ Selwyn, M. A.; Ganesan, R. (2009). "Evaluating the potential role of Eucalyptus plantations in the regeneration of native trees in southern Western Ghats, India" (PDF). Tropical Ecology. 50 (1): 173–189.
  13. ↑ Gao, J; Queenborough, SA; Chai, JP (2012-01-01). "Flowering sex ratios and spatial distribution of dioeciois trees in a south-east Asian seasonal tropical forest". Journal of Tropical Forest Science. 24 (4): 517–527. JSTOR   23617099.
  14. ↑ Ganesh, T.; Davidar, Priya (2001). "Dispersal modes of tree species in the wet forests of southern Western Ghats" (PDF). Current Science. 80: 394–399.
  15. ↑ Devy, M. Soubadra; Davidar, Priya (2003-04-01). "Pollination systems of trees in Kakachi, a mid-elevation wet evergreen forest in Western Ghats, India". American Journal of Botany. 90 (4): 650–657. doi:10.3732/ajb.90.4.650. ISSN   0002-9122. PMID   21659160.
  16. ↑ Singh, M.; Kumara, H. N.; Kumar, M. A.; Sharma, A. K. (2016-10-01). "Behavioural responses of lion-tailed macaques (Macaca silenus) to a changing habitat in a tropical rain forest fragment in the Western Ghats, India". Folia Primatologica; International Journal of Primatology. 72 (5): 278–291. doi:10.1159/000049949. ISSN   0015-5713. PMID   11805424.
  17. ↑ "Ayurvedic Plants of Sri Lanka: Plants Details". www.instituteofayurveda.org. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.