Fagraea ceilanica

Fagraea ceilanica
Flower
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Gentianaceae
Genus: Fagraea
Species:
F. ceilanica
Binomial name
Fagraea ceilanica
Synonyms
  • Fagraea coromandelina Wight
  • Fagraea gardneri Thwaites
  • Fagraea khasiana Benth.
  • Fagraea malabarica Blume
  • Fagraea malabarica Wight [Illegitimate]
  • Fagraea obovata Wall.
  • Fagraea prainii Gand.
  • Fagraea rostrata Blume
  • Fagraea sasakii Hayata
  • Gardenia heteroclyta J.König ex Blume
  • Hillia longiflora hort. ex Lem.
  • Solandra oppositifolia Moon
  • Willughbeia ceilanica Spreng.
  • Willughbeia obovata Spreng.
  • Winchia cirrhifera Gardner ex Thwaites[1]

Fagraea ceilanica is a species of small tree in the family Gentianaceae growing to heights of up to 10 metres. Typical habitat is seasonal tropical forest, but it is also grown as an ornamental tree in many places in India, Indo-China and Malesia.[2]

It has been described as "epiphytic" or a "strangler" when young,[3] since like strangling figs (Ficus) its seeds germinate in cracks and branch joints of living tree trunks from where the young plants' roots grow around the trunk down to the ground, using the tree as support but without killing it. Occasionally flowering Fagraea ceilanica bushes are seen high up on tree trunks, remaining there as epiphytes. It is also recorded as a lithophyte growing on rocks and rock faces.[4][5]

  1. ^ "Fagraea ceilanica Thunb. — the Plant List".
  2. ^ Fagraea ceilanica. Flora of China.
  3. ^ Fagraea ceilanica. Biotik.
  4. ^ Widodo, Muhammad Ja'far Luthfi. ″Short Communication: Morphological study of Fagraea ceilanica (Gentianaceae) inMount Nglanggeran, Yogyakarta, Indonesia″, Biodiversitas Volume 17, Number 2: 454-460
  5. ^ India Biodiversity: Fagraea ceilanica