Combretum roxburghii Spreng.

In botanical literature, this species has variously been called Combretum decandrum, by those presumably unaware of Jacquin’s earlier homonym for a New World species, or C. roxburghii, which was published by Sprengel (Syst. Veg. 2: 331. 1825) as a nomen novum for Roxburgh’s name.

Lianas. Branchlets reddish villosulous when young. Leaves opposite; petiole 5-7 mm, with a tuft of hairs distally; leaf blade oblong-elliptic to obovate-oblong, 6-13(-15) × 3-6(-7) cm, both surfaces glabrous except abaxially very sparsely hairy, less sparsely so on veins, with or without tufts of hairs in axils of lateral veins, neither surface white verruculose, base obtuse or obtuse-rounded, apex obtuse, caudate; lateral veins in 6 or 7 pairs. Inflorescences terminal and axillary, laxly compound spikes 5-15 cm, usually grouped at branchlet apex and forming a ± lax, leafy panicle; bracts persistent at anthesis, lanceolate, 4-6 mm, tomentose. Calyx tube distally cupular, 3-5 mm, abaxially golden tomentose; lobes 5, broadly triangular, ca. 1 mm, apex aristate. Petals 5, obovate-oblong, ca. 2 mm, both surfaces yellow villous. Stamens 10, only slightly exserted, ca. 2 mm, not exceeding petals. Fruit glossy, cylindric, 5-winged, 2-3 × 0.8-1 cm, glabrous, apex acuminate.

Himalaya (Punjab to Nepal), India, Burma, Indo-China, W. China.

200-600 m

Habitat and elevation not recorded. S Guangxi, SW Yunnan [Bangladesh, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam].

Combretum decandrum Roxburgh, Pl. Coromandel 1: 43. 1796, not Jacquin (1760); Pentaptera roxburghii Tulasne, nom. illeg. superfl.; Poivrea roxburghii Candolle, nom. illeg. superfl.