Phytocrene palmata Wall.

Species

Angiosperms > Icacinales > Icacinaceae > Phytocrene

Characteristics

Liana; stem generally not branched, younger parts with prickles (1 mm), striate, tips rufous-hispid. Leaves limited to the upper part of the branches, orbicular to reniform in outline, deeply palmately (3-)5-(rarely-7)-lobed, lobes oblong to oblong-obovate, acute or acuminate, base of lamina deeply cordate, entire or shallowly wavy, upper surface glabrous and shining, lower surface densely covered with longish coarse sub-appressed rufous to yellowish hairs especially on midrib and nerves, soft to the touch, 15-30 cm long, breadth about the same, main nerves 5(-7), palmate, lateral nerves per lobe 3-4 pairs, curved-ascending and looping, with more numerous coarse transverse veins in a ± right angle from the main nerve, reticulation coarse, deeply impressed above, much raised beneath as are all nerves, the lamina not rarely almost ± bullate in dry specimens; petiole stout, often twisted, rufous-to rusty-tomentose, 7-12.5 cm. Panicles of ♂ flowers subcylindric, axillary or from lower part of stem, (6-)15-40 by c. 3.5 cm, all over covered with a tomentum of short soft rufous to ferrugineous hairs, the ultimate branches (c. 1 cm) bearing small, 12-15-flowered, pedicelled (2-4 mm) umbellules or heads (c. 2.5 mm ø), part of them subtended by a ± caducous subulate bract (2-4 mm). Calyx segments 3 or 4, obovate, hairy, 0.8 mm. Petals (3-)4, oblong-lanceolate, pale green, glabrous inside, hairy outside, c. 1.5 mm. Stamens 4; anther cells linear-oblong, 1 mm. ♀ Flowers in peduncled (c. 6 mm) axillary ovoid heads, c. 1 cm ø. Ovary ovoid, hirsute. Drupes numerous, collected in subglobular heads 7-10 cm ø, elongate-ellipsoid, or slightly obovoid, much tapering to the base, apiculate by the conical style, all over ± densely covered with yellowish shining stiff hairs, (3.5-)4-5.5 by 1.6-2(-2.5) cm; exocarp thin; endocarp bony, rather smooth outside where the hairs are gone, laxly pitted outside, low-papillate inside respectively.
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A creeper. The leaves are on the upper part of the branches. The are round to kidney shaped with lobes like fingers on a hand. The flowering shoots are in the axils of the leaves. There are 12-15 small flowers on a shoot. There are several fruit in a round head 7-10 cm across.
Life form -
Growth form shrub
Growth support -
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Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
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Mature height (meter) 0.0
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Nitrogen fixer -
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Environment

A tropical plant. It grows in hilly lowland forests up to 500 m above sea level.
More
Hilly lowland forest, up to 500 m.
Light -
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Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

A watery drinkable sap flows from the stems.
Uses material
Edible saps
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
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Cultivation

Plants can be grown from seeds.
Mode seedlings
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Distribution

Phytocrene palmata world distribution map, present in Indonesia, Iceland, and Thailand

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:608226-1
WFO ID wfo-0000465332
COL ID 4HLG5
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Phytocrene palmata Phytocrene stylocarpa Gynocephalum palmatum