Horsfieldia kingii (Hook.F.) Warb.

Species

Angiosperms > Magnoliales > Myristicaceae > Horsfieldia

Characteristics

Trees to 12 m tall; twigs hollow, smooth or with small lenticels, puberulent to glabrous, dark brown. Leaves in (3-)5 rows; petioles 2.5-4 cm, with deep groove, glabrous; leaf blade obovate or oblanceolate, (12-)28-55 × 5-15 cm, papery, both surfaces glabrous except sometimes midvein pubescent, base narrowed and then acute, or broadly cuneate, apex acute or shortly acuminate, sometimes blunt; lateral veins 14-18 pairs, midvein raised abaxially, sunken adaxially, tertiary veins sparse, nearly parallel, obscure. Plants dioecious. Male inflorescences axillary or arising from axils of deciduous leaves, 9-15 cm, tomentulose to nearly glabrous. Male flowers: pedicel slender, 1-2 mm, nearly as long as flowers; bud globose, 3-or 4-angled, leathery when dry, lobes (2 or)3 or 4(or 5), splitting bud to ca. 3/4; anthers 12-20, connate into globose synandrium. Female inflorescences 3-7 cm, branched. Female flowers: buds nearly globose or obovoid, ca. 5 mm, larger than male, not clustered, lobes 2 or 3; ovary obovoid, pubescent; stigmas sessile. Fruit ovoid to oblong-ellipsoid, 4-4.5 × ca. 2.5 cm, narrowed at ends, early glabrescent; perianth persistent; pericarp thick, leathery. Seeds ovoid, with slightly pointed apex; testa thick, brown and glossy; aril thin, entire. Fl. Apr-Aug, fr. Oct-Dec.
More
A tree. The young shoots are hairy. The bark has shallow cracks and breaks into square flakes. It is reddish. The leaves are oval and taper to a blunt tip. The flowers are small. The fruit are about 2.5 cm long. There is a fleshy layer around the seed.
Life form perennial
Growth form tree
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention
Sexuality dioecy
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 9.0 - 18.5
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color -
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

A tropical plant. In Sikkim it grows between 400-900 m above sea level. It grows in dense forests in ravines between 800-1,200 m in southern China.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture 7-8
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 8-12

Usage

The fruit are eaten. (They can cause intoxication). The fruit are also used for jam and pickles. The seeds are used as a substitute for betel nut.
Uses material medicinal
Edible fruits seeds
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Horsfieldia kingii habit picture by Dieter Albrecht (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Horsfieldia kingii world distribution map, present in Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Viet Nam

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:585728-1
WFO ID wfo-0000724865
COL ID 3MQB8
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Palala kingii Horsfieldia kingii Horsfieldia hainanensis Myristica kingii Horsfieldia tetratepala