Helicia obovatifolia Merr. & Chun

Species

Angiosperms > Proteales > Proteaceae > Helicia

Characteristics

Trees 6-14 m tall; branchlets, leaves, inflorescences, and flowers rust-colored tomentulose. Petiole 1.5-6 cm; leaf blade obovate, ovate, obovate-oblong, or broadly oblanceolate, 7-28 × 4-15 cm, leathery, glabrescent, base cuneate, margin entire or serrulate to serrate on apical half, apex rounded, abruptly ± acute, acute, or shortly acuminate; secondary veins 6-12 on each side of midvein, raised on both surfaces; reticulate veins conspicuous. Inflorescences axillary, 5-16 cm; bracts of flower pairs ovate, ca. 1.5 mm; floral bracts deltoid, ca. 1 mm. Pedicels free, 1-3 mm. Perianth white to yellow-brown, 1-1.4 cm; limb ovoid, ca. 1.5 mm in diam. Anthers 2-2.5 mm. Hypogynous glands ovoid, free or basally connate, crowded together. Ovary densely pubescent. Style glabrous. Fruit purplish black, obovoid to ellipsoid, 3-5 × 2-3.5 cm, apex apiculate; pericarp 1.5-2 mm thick, leathery. Fl. Jun-Oct, fr. Oct-Dec.
More
An evergreen tree. It grows 20 m high. The trunk is 40 cm across. The leaves and flowers have a rusty coating. The leaves are oval and 7-28 cm long by 4-15 cm wide. They are leathery. The base is wedge shaped and there can be teeth along the edge. The fruit are oval and purple to black. They are 3-5 cm long by 2-4 cm wide.
Life form -
Growth form tree
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) 0.4
Mature height (meter) 13.0 - 17.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
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Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color
Fruiting months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

A tropical plant. It grows in tropical evergreen forests. It grows on hills below 1,000 m altitude. It grows on wet soil.
Light -
Soil humidity -
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Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 8-12

Usage

The seeds are rich in starch. It can be used for food and for alcohol production. Caution: Alcohol is a cause of cancer.
Uses medicinal
Edible seeds
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
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Distribution

Helicia obovatifolia world distribution map, present in China, Lao People's Democratic Republic, and Viet Nam

Conservation status

Helicia obovatifolia threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:704458-1
WFO ID wfo-0001107146
COL ID 3K7JK
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Helicia obovatifolia Helicia obovatifolia var. obovatifolia

Lower taxons

Helicia obovatifolia var. mixta