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Litsea pungens Hemsl.

Species

Angiosperms > Laurales > Lauraceae > Litsea

Characteristics

Deciduous small trees, 3-10 m tall. Young branchlets pubescent. Leaves alternate, often clustered at apex of branchlet; petiole 1-2 cm, pubescent when young; leaf blade lanceolate or obovate-lanceolate, 4-15 × 2-5.5 cm, sericeous-pubescent abaxially when young and becoming glabrous or pilose along midrib, pinninerved, lateral veins 5-7 pairs, base cuneate, apex shortly acute. Umbel axillary, 8-12-flowered, flowering before leaves; peduncle 5-8 mm, glabrous. Pedicel 5-6 mm, sericeous-pubescent. Perianth segments 6, yellow, obovate. Male flowers: fertile stamens 9; filaments pubescent at base, of 3rd whorls each with 2 yellow rounded glands at base; rudimentary pistil small, glabrous. Fruit globose, 7-10 mm in diam., blue-black at maturity; fruiting pedicel 1-2.5 cm, slightly thickened at apex. Fl. Mar-May, fr. Jul-Sep.
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A small tree. It loses its leaves during the year. It grows 3-10 m tall. The young branches are hairy. The leaves are alternate. Often leaves are grouped near the tips of young branches. The leaf stalk is 1-2 cm long. The leaf blade is oval or sword shaped and 4-15 cm long by 2.5-5 cm wide. It narrows to a sharp tip and is rounded or wedge shaped at the base. There are 5-7 pairs of side veins. There are 8-12 flowers in a cluster. Flowers form before the leaves. Fruit are round and black and 7-10 mm across.
Life form perennial
Growth form tree
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention
Sexuality dioecy
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 3.0 - 10.0
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

It is a subtropical plant. It grows along stream banks on sunny slopes between 800-2300 m altitude in China. In Sichuan and Yunnan.
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Streamsides, weed-tree forests or forest margins on sunny slopes; at elevations from 800-2,300 metres.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 6-11

Usage

The oil from the fruit is used to give a sweet smell to food. It is also used for high grade spices and Vitamin A.
Uses condiment essential oil food material medicinal oil spice
Edible fruits
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by seedlings.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Distribution

Litsea pungens world distribution map, present in China and Myanmar

Conservation status

Litsea pungens threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:465975-1
WFO ID wfo-0001070310
COL ID 3VNCY
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Litsea pungens Litsea kangdingensis
WorldFloraDB 2024