Rhamnus virgata Roxb.

Species

Angiosperms > Rosales > Rhamnaceae > Rhamnus

Characteristics

Shrubs or trees, dioecious, to 6 m tall, spinose. Branchlets opposite or subopposite; young branches densely hirsute; older branches virgate, shiny, red-brown or purple-red, smooth, glabrous, terminating in a spine. Leaves opposite or subopposite, or fascicled on short shoots; stipules lanceolate, often persistent; petiole 4-10(-15) mm, adaxially canaliculate and puberulent or densely hirsute; leaf blade vivid greenish, turning red when dry, obovate-lanceolate, obovate-elliptic, or elliptic, 2.5-8 × 1.5-3 cm, papery or thinly papery, abaxially pilose on veins or only in vein axils, or subglabrous or densely hirsute, adaxially pilose or subglabrous or pilose only on veins, lateral veins 4 or 5 pairs, reticulate veins conspicuous, base cuneate, margin crenate-serrulate, apex acuminate or shortly acuminate, rarely acute. Flowers unisexual, 4-merous. Petals present, 3-4 mm, sparsely puberulent or glabrous. Female flowers few, fascicled on short shoots, with rudimentary stamens; style 2-cleft. Drupe bluish black, subglobose, with persistent calyx tube at base, 4-5 mm in diam., with 2 stones; fruiting pedicel 2-5 mm. Seeds red-brown, abaxially with margined furrow extending over 2/3-3/4 of length. Fl. Apr-May, fr. Jun-Oct.
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A shrub or small tree. It has many branches. The branches usually end in a sharp thorn. The leaves are almost opposite and 2-10 cm long by 1-6 cm wide. They are narrowly sword shaped. There can be teeth along the edge. The flowers are of one sex and are in the axils of leaves. The flowers are 4-5 mm long. The fruit are oval and 7 mm long. They have 2-4 seeds. The seeds are shiny and have a groove on the back. They are dark brown and 5 mm long by 2 mm wide.
Life form
Growth form
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality
Pollination entomogamy
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 4.5 - 6.0
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

Forest undergrowth; at elevations up to 2,700 metres. Open places along the margins of forests at elevations of 1000-3000 metres in Nepal.
More
It is a subtropical plant. In China it grows on mountain slopes between 1,200-3,800 m above sea level. In Sichuan and Yunnan.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 7-12

Usage

The leaves are boiled and eaten with salt and oil.
Uses dye medicinal oil wood
Edible leaves
Therapeutic use Cathartics (fruit), Emetics (fruit), Splenic diseases (fruit), Emetic (unspecified), Purgative (unspecified), Spleen (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

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

Distribution

Rhamnus virgata world distribution map, present in Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan

Conservation status

Rhamnus virgata threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:718734-1
WFO ID wfo-0001131393
COL ID 4S2DN
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Rhamnus virgata Rhamnus cachemirica Rhamnus dahuricus Rhamnus leptophylla var. milensis Rhamnus virgata var. virgata

Lower taxons

Rhamnus virgata var. hirsuta Rhamnus virgata var. flavida