|
P.mullesua
Botany: | A slender, extensively branched climber. The species spreads through ground and climbs up shrubs and tree trunks or rocks. Branches glabrous, tomentoses and corky; juvenile shoot puberculous or glabrous, juvenile leaves very small, ivy like, cordate; leaves on the flowering branches are small, coriacious, elliptic, approximately 8X3 cm; Base acute, often oblique, tip acuminate; two pairs of prominent ribs, lower one form the base. Upper one 1-2 cm above the base; veins prominent on the ventral side, short petiole. Spikes filifom in male, 3-5 cm long; female globose or oblong, about one cm. Long. Peduncle short, anther lobes single, reniform, dorsifixed; pollen sacs two, dehiscing by longitudinal slits; carpel single, ovary ellipsoid, style absent, stigma 3 lobed, minute papillate. Fruits very small, almost ellipsoidal, seeds minute, ellipsoidal, spicy and mildly pungent, turns from green to black on ripening. The leaves on the juvenile runner shoots and orthotropic shoots very small, typically cordate and ivy like.juvenile shoots often have crisp hairs which are deciduous; such shoots sometime colored light pink. Flowering time May- June, Fruit ripening Feb.-March. 2n = 132. |
Keyfeature: | Spike globose | Distribution: | Distributed through Westrn ghats , Nilgiris, Anamala, Agasthyamala & Bababudan hills of Karnataka occurring usually above 1000 m MSL. |
| | |
|
|