| Type | Indigenous |
|---|---|
| Family | Celastraceae |
| Local Name | Neeral |
| Habit | Large sized tree |
| Botanical Features | Tree to 30 m tall; bark greyish brown, reddish inside. Leaves opposite, elliptic-oblong, acute at base, crenate at margin, caudate-acuminate at apex, coriaceous and glabrous. Lateral nerves 5-9 pairs; petioles 2-2.5 cm long. Cymes dichasial, terminal and axillary, glabrous. Flowers ca 12 mm across, greenish yellow; pedicels 4-5 mm long. Sepals 5, imbricate, oblong, broadly ovate, obtuse, ca 1.5 x 3 mm, glabrous. Petals imbricate, oblong, obtuse, slightly revolute at margin, ca 5 x 2-2.5mm. Stamens 5, inserted at margin of wavy annular disc; filaments ca 2 mm long. Ovary within disc, 2-loculed with 2 basal ovules in each; sytles short; stigmas entire. Drupes ellipsoid, apiculate, green; epicarp thin, putamen slightly compressed, vertically grooved on both sides, 3-4 mm thick on one side, 5-7 mm on the other, shining, brown inside. Seed 1, elliptic, planoconvex, shallowly grooved above, brown. |