Carallia brachiata 

Carallia brachiata (Lour.) Merr.

Family : Rhizophoraceae

Common Name   : വല്ലഭം(Mal)

  : Freshwater Mangrove (Eng)

Evergreen trees; to 25 m; bark 10-12 mm thick, dark grey, corky, furrowed, prominently pustular-lenticellate. Leaves simple, opposite, 4-11 x 2-7 cm, obovate, or obovate-oblong, apex acute or obtuse, base attenuate or acute, margin entire, recurved, coriaceous, glabrous and glossy; lateral nerves 6-10 pairs, slender, pinnate, obscure, secondary laterals present; intercostae reticulate, obscure; petiole 6-10 mm stout, glabrous. Flowers bisexual, cream coloured, sessile, small, in short, trichotomous axillary branching cymes; bracteoles minute. Calyx tube campanulate, lobes 5-8, ovate, acute, valvate. Petals 5-8, clawed, orbicular-cordate, margin deeply lacerate, white, inserted on a crenulate disc; disc 10-16 lobed. Stamens 10-16, inserted with them on the disc, one of each pair opposite the petal, slightly longer than the other filament, which is opposite to a sepal; filaments filiform; anthers small. Ovary half inferior, 3-5-celled; ovules 2 in each cell; style subulate; stigma 4-lobed. Fruit a drupe, 5-6 mm across, red, filiform; seed one, bright orange, subreniform.

Use: The wood is used for construction work and for furniture and other interior furnishing.

Distribution : Indo-Malesia and Australia

Flowering & Fruiting : October-April