Flacourtia rukam Zoll. & Moritz

Tree

Flacourtia species are shrubs or trees, armed with simple and branched spines, branches with sympodial growth. Leaves simple, alternate, lanceolate-ovate to elliptic-oblong, margin entire, serrate-dentate to pinnately veined, sometimes 3-5 pliveined at the base, apex acute to acuminate, lateral veins upcurved, thicker near the midrib and diminishing towards the margins, petiolate, stipules minute early caducous or absent. Inflorescence in shortly pedunculate axillary and terminal raceme fascicles, few to many flowers. Flowers unisexual (dioecious) or sometimes bisexual, hypogynous, pedicels articulate, bracts ovate, chartaceous, scalelike, sepals 4-7, imbricate, connate near base, free above, margin ciliate, subpersistent, petals absent, extrastaminal disc, with distinct glands inserted before sepals. Male flowers: Stamens 15-30, filaments filiform, inserted on disk cup, persistent, anthers 2 loculed, globular, dorsifixed, pollen fleshy, tricolporate, reticulate, pistillode absent. Female flowers: Ovary superior, globose, surrounded by disc, carpels 3-10, incompletely loculed, connate, with intruding placentae, ovules often 2 per locule, style connate, free or rarely absent, stigma shortly bilobed or retuse. Fruit indehiscent berry or drupe, ellipsoid-globose when ripe becoming obtusely constricted and ribbed when dried with 2 superposed pyrenes in per locule. Seeds 1-2, ovoid-obovoid, thinly coriaceous, non arillate, cotyledons orbicular.

Flacourtia species dioecious, i.e., male (staminate) flowers on one plant, and female (pistillate) flowers on another plant, or sometimes complete, bisexual, i.e., with functional male (androecium) and female (gynoecium), including stamens, carpels. Pollination is entomophilous i.e., by insects, or cleistogamy i.e., by self or allogamy i.e., by cross pollination. Flowering/Fruiting: April-October.

Seeds may be dispersed by autochory i.e., self dispersal, zoochory i.e., dispersal by birds or animals, anthropochory i.e., dispersal by humans.

Small or medium sized trees, about 4-15 m tall, usually armed with simple and branched spines on the trunk, spines up to 10 cm long, branches with sympodial growth. Leaves simple, alternate, ovate-oblong, oblong-elliptic, about 5-18 x 3-8 cm across, base cuneate to rounded, sometimes 3-5 pliveined, margin coarsely serrate-crenate, apex acute to shallow acuminate, leaves often clustered towards apices, lateral veins 4-9 on either side of the midrib, impressed above and slightly prominent beneath, glabrous above, glabrous beneath or pubescent on the veins beneath, thicker near the midrib and diminishing towards the margins, lamina brownish red and drooping when young, chartaceous to subcoriaceous, shiny, petiole reddish, minutely hairy, about 5-8 mm long. Inflorescence in shortly pedunculate axillary raceme fascicles, bracteate, puberulous. Flowers unisexual (dioecious), hypogynous, greenish yellow, pedicels articulate, hairy, about 3-4 mm long, sepals 3-5, imbricate, ovate, apex obtuse, hairy inside, sparsely hairy outside, petals absent, extrastaminal disc, with distinct glands inserted before sepals. Male flowers: Stamens numerous, glabrous, filaments filiform, base minutely hairy, about 3-4 mm long, anthers 2 loculed, versatile, globular, dorsifixed, pollen fleshy, tricolporate, reticulate, pistillode absent. Female flowers: Ovary superior, urceolate, surrounded by disc, staminodes occasionally present, style 5-6, little or not connate, stigma slightly recurved, shortly bilobed. Fruit indehiscent berry, ellipsoid-globose, about 5-10 mm across, green, red and turning to purplish red when ripe, with 2 superposed pyrenes in per locule, 4-7 angled when dried. Seeds 6-12, ovoid-obovoid, compressed, non arillate.

Flacourtia species are susceptible to various insect pests, powdery mildews and moulds.

Native of Malaya; cultivated.

Swamp forest, cultivated

Not evaluated (IUCN).

Fruits are edible, rubbing the fruits between the palms of the hand before eating, because bruising the flesh eliminates astringency.