Walsura Roxb.

Trees, unbranched low down or (if tree less than 4 m tall) densely twiggy at breast height, sympodial, leptocaul to pachycaul, buttressed or not. Twig pith with vessel elements (cf. Heyned). Indumentum of simple and/or 2-armed trichomes. Leaves usually all along leafy twigs, unifoliolate or imparipinnate with opposite leaflets, 1–4-jugate, to 80 cm long; rachis swollen slightly at the node(s); petiolule usually swollen slightly immediately beneath base of lamina and sometimes slightly geniculate; lamina apex acuminate to obtuse to retuse and base symmetric or slightly asymmetric, abaxial surface glaucous (in vivo) and glabrous to velutinous and sometimes with small glandular bodies (black dots) on either side of and within 2 mm of the midrib. Inflorescences axillary (cauliflory unknown), 0.8-30 cm long, each a thyrse with a very dense to open paniculate head. Flowers hermaphrodite or unisexual, just prior to opening ± cylindrical and up to 6 mm long, at maximum opening up to 9 mm diam., short pedicel widening almost imperceptibly into calyx. Calyx much shorter than the petals, shallowly to deeply 5-lobed, each lobe triangular with entire margins and acute apex. Petals 5, free, valvate to imbricate, oblong to narrowly elliptic, apex acute to obtuse and sometimes hooded after opening. Androecium of 10 discrete filaments each narrowly triangular or a tube surmounted by 10 ligulate to narrowly triangular filaments, each filament with a truncate or short-bifid apex; anthers 10, deltoid, very short-beaked or not at all. Disk annular, glabrous or pubescent. Ovary very densely hairy with short erect trichomes or glabrous, 2-locular, each locule with 2 collateral ovules. Style cylindrical to inversely conical. Stigma capitate to short-cylindrical, sometimes with two short lobes at apex. Fruit a l–2(–4?)-seeded berry or 1-or 2-seeded weakly dehiscent septifragal capsule, pericarp leathery with thin layer of sclerenchyma on inside, thin septum separating locules. Seeds ellipsoidal, lacking endosperm surrounded by transparent sweet fleshy aril. Germination cryptocotylar. 2n = 28.

UsesUsed locally as a source of hard, durable timber. Walsura robusta (in combination with other timbers) has been used in paper manufacture. No evidence of the use of the aril (see above) as a human foodstuff can be found.