| Type | Indigenous |
|---|---|
| Family | Ternstroemiaceae |
| Synonym | Eurya japonica auct.non Thunb. |
| Local Name | Kattutheyila |
| Local Name 2 | Kooramaru |
| Local Name 3 | Meenmutti |
| Habit | Small sized tree |
| Botanical Features | Evergreen trees, to 8 m high, bole striate; bark brown. Leaves simple, alternate, exstipulate; petiole 1-7 mm, slender, glabrous, grooved above; lamina 2-7.5 x 1-3 cm, elliptic or elliptic-oblanceolate, base acute or cuneate, apex subacute, margin serrate, coriaceous, glabrous; lateral veins 4-9 pairs, pinnate, prominent, intercostae reticulate, prominent, secondary laterals also prominent. Flowers unisexual, white or greenish-white, 2 or more in axillary fascicles, rarely solitary; pedicel 1-2.5 mm long; bracteoles 2 at the base of calyx; sepals 5, broadly ovate to orbicular, glabrous, ciliate; petals 5, broadly oblong to orbicular, connate at base, imbricate; stamens 12-15, connate at base, adnate to the base of petals, anthers apiculate; ovary superior, globose, glabrous, 3-celled, ovule many in each cell; styles 3, 1.5-2.5 mm long, united basely; stigmas 3-lobed. Fruit a berry, 3-5 mm across, globose, black; seeds small, many, dark brown, angular, reticulate. |