Memecylon
| Memecylon | |
|---|---|
 |
|
|
Memecylon umbellatum
From Mirijjawila Botanical Garden, Sri Lanka |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Family: | Melastomataceae |
| Subfamily: | Olisbeoideae |
| Tribe: | Memecyleae |
| Genus: | Memecylon |
From Mirijjawila Botanical Garden, Sri Lanka
Memecylon is a plant group in Melastomataceae. It consists of 350-400 species of small to medium sized trees and shrubs occurring in the Old World tropics.. Memecylon is a monophyletic group basal to the Melastomataceae clade. Memecylon taxa have more than 600 published basionyms. Diversity of this group is concentrated in tropical Africa, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, India and Malaysia.
The name Memecylon is derived from 'memaecylon' as used by ancient Greek philosophers Dioscorides and Pliny to describe the red fruits of Arbutus unedo (oriental strawberry tree), an unrelated plant group, alluding to the pink to reddish berries often produced by Memecylon. Some vernacular names in different regions of the world are given below. English: Blue mist plant, Hindi: Anjan, Malayalam: Aattukanala, Oriya: Neymaru, Sinhala: Korakaha, Welikaha, Tamil: Kaya.
Memecylon sensu lato can be diagnosed by exstipulate leaves, four-merous bisexual flowers, anthers opening by slits, enlarged connectives bearing terpenoid secreting glands and berries.Memecylon sensu stricto can be distinguished from other Memecyloids by obscure nervation on leaves, non-glandular roughened leaf surface having branched sclerids, imbricate calyx, unilocular ovary and large embryo with thick and convoluted cotyledons.
...
Wikipedia