Elaeocarpus apiculatus has bloomed; let's get to know this tree together
Elaeocarpus apiculatus is a commonly used name for Elaeocarpus sylvestris var. longimucronatus, now more often called Elaeocarpus rugosus. A tree of the family Elaeocarpaceae and the genus Elaeocarpus, with gray bark; the branchlets are stout, covered with grayish-brown downy hairs, bearing many round scars left by fallen leaf stalks, and shriveled when dry with many straight stripes. The leaves are clustered at the tips of the branches, leathery, obovate-lanceolate; the drupe is elliptical, 3-3.5 cm long, with brown downy hairs. The flowering period is August-September, and the fruit ripens in winter.
Elaeocarpus apiculatus
Produced in southern Yunnan, Guangdong and Hainan in China. Found in low-altitude valleys. Also distributed in Indochina and Malaysia. The buttress roots at the base of the trunk of adult trees are very spectacular. The flowers are pure white like shells, fragrant. After midsummer, the trees bear abundant fruit. It is an excellent woody flowering plant, landscape tree and street tree.
Elaeocarpus apiculatus
The type specimen was collected from Malacca, Malaysia. Gagnepain once designated the specimens of this type from Vietnam as a variety, based on his mistaken belief that the inflorescence of the original species from Malaysia was hairless while that of the Vietnamese specimens was hairy. In fact, according to Masters' record in "Flora of India," the inflorescence is covered with short hairs; the inflorescences of specimens from our country are also hairy, so they were merged.
Elaeocarpus apiculatus
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Elaeocarpus sylvestris var. longimucronatus has a rounded, uniform crown, with dense branches and leaves, some of which are dark red, intermingling red and green in a most captivating way. In gardens it is often planted in clusters on lawns, at intersections, at forest edges and other places; it can also be planted in rows to serve as a screen and for sound insulation, or as a background tree for flowering shrubs or sculptures, with a very good enhancing effect. It can also be used as a greening tree species for factory areas. In some regions it has already been used as a street tree.