Vellakasavu / Hedge Boxwood
Drypetes sepiaria
- Habit
- Tree
- Found in India
- Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh
- Flowering
- December-June
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Drypetes sepiaria
- Genus
- Drypetes
- Family
- Euphorbiaceae
- Habit
- Tree
- Habitat
- Dry and moist deciduous forests, semi-Evergreen forests, also in the plains and sacred groves
- Habitat type
- Forest
- Distribution
- India, Sri Lanka
- Found in India
- Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh
- Flowering & fruiting
- December-June
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf shape
- CordaterecordedHeart-shaped, with a notch at the base.“The mature leaves are broadly oval-oblong and base cordate to rounded in shape and glossy on the upper side.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf margin
- Toothed (serrate/dentate edge)recorded
- Leaf surface
- Glabrous (smooth, hairless)recorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Characters marked “recorded” are for Vellakasavu itself; the rest are typical of the Euphorbiaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Whiterecorded
- Flower arrangement
- RacemerecordedIndividual stalked flowers arranged along a central stem, opening from bottom to top.“The inflorescence flowers are bracteolate, axillary clusters or short racemes.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Fruit type
- DruperecordedA fleshy fruit with a single hard stone/pit enclosing the seed.“The fruits are crimson in color, small sphere in shape and fusiform drupe.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Cyme
- Fruit
- Capsule
Characters marked “recorded” are for Vellakasavu itself; the rest are typical of the Euphorbiaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Tamil
- வீரை (மரம்)
- Malayalam
- Vellakasavu, Veeramaram, വീരമരം
About Vellakasavu
A member of the Euphorbiaceae family, Hedge Boxwood (Drypetes sepiaria) is a tree. In India it has been recorded in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. It grows in dry and moist deciduous forests, semi-Evergreen forests, also in the plains and sacred groves. Flowering and fruiting run from December to June.
Euphorbiaceae
Spurge/Euphorbia family
Vellakasavu belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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