Artabotrys zeylanicus Hook. f. & Thomson

Artabotrys species are woody scandent climbing shrubs, with distinct unique hook-like peduncles. Bark grayish brown, fissured. Leaves simple, alternate, exstipulate, shining glabrous above, glaucous beneath. Flowers bisexual, fragrant, recurved hooked leaf opposed, solitary or in fascicles, Sepals 3, valvate, base connate, Petals 6 or 9, valvate, in two whorls, much larger than the sepals, outer whorl fleshy, thinner concave base, inner whorl very small. Stamens many, ovoid, oblong, cuneate, connectives on the flat top. Carpels 4 to many, 2 ovules per carpel, erect, style oblong or columnar, stigma ovoid or clavate. Ripe carpels or fruit apocarpous many, subsessile, berried and ovoid. Seeds 2 rarely 1 per monocarp, aril absent.

Flowering class: Dicot Habit: Climber

Flowering and fruiting: September-June

Artabotrys species flowers are complete, bisexual, i.e., with functional male (androecium) and female (gynoecium), including stamens, carpels and ovary. Pollination is entomophilous i.e., by insects. Flowering/Fruiting: October-March/May-September.

Seeds dispersed by barochory i.e., gravitational dispersal, anthropochory i.e., dispersal by humans.

Scandent bushy straggling shrub, about 5-10 m long. Bark dark brown, with or without thorns, fissured, branchlets puberulous, glabrous when mature. Leaves simple, alternate, narrow ovate, lanceolate-elliptic or oblanceolate, 10-18 x 4-8.5 cm across, base acute to obtuse or truncate, margin entire, apex acute or shallow acuminate, chartaceous, subcoriaceous, thick, dark green, shining, glabrous above, paler gluacous beneath, lateral veins 8-14 on either side of the midrib, impressed above, prominent on the midrib beneath, reticulate veinlets fine and close, petiole stout, about 0.7-1 cm long. Inflorescence solitary or 1-4 fascicled on a leaf opposed, hooked peduncle peduncle somewhat compressed and drooping. Flowers bisexual, fragrant, about 2.5-3 cm across, on a hooked peduncle, pedicels rusty tomentose when young, about 7-13 mm long. Sepals 3, broadly ovate or somewhat triangular, apex acute, connate at the base, greenish, rufous tomentose outside, about 4-5 x 3-4 mm across. Petals 6 in 2 rows, subequal or outer petals slightly longer and wider than the inner petals, ovate-lanceolate, base connate, clawed, apex obtuse or truncate, light green, minutely pubescent, about 3-3.5 x 0.4-0.6 cm across. Stamens many, oblong, about 2 mm long, connectives broad, peltate, apically triangular. Carpels many linear, strigose, about 3 mm long, style linear, stigma spathulate, flat and sometimes curved. Ripe carpels, 5-14, broadly obovoid or ovoid in fruit, glabrous, apex mucronate, about 2 x 3 cm across, Seeds 2, oval-oblong, brown, finely wrinkled, about 1 cm long.

Susceptible to insect pests.

Notes: Western Ghats, Evergreen Forests

Semi-evergreen and evergreen forests, also in the plains

Tropical evergreen and semi evergreen forests.

Flower decoction is used to treat vomitting.