Ostodes, Blume, 1825

Ostodes View in CoL

Ostodes Blume (1825) View in CoL 619; Baill. (1858) 391; Miq. (1859) 383; Müll.Arg. (1866) 1114; Kurz (1877) 403; Benth. (1880) 299; Hook.f. (1887) 400; Pax & K.Hoffm. (1911) 17; Gagnep. (1925) 322; Pax & K.Hoffm. (1931) 157; Backer & Bakh.f. (1963) 493; Airy Shaw (1967) 411; (1972) 311; (1981) 334; Chakrab.& N.P.Balakr. (1985, publ. 1987) 259; Grierson & D.G.Long (1987) 795; G.L. Webster (1994) 105; Radcl.-Sm. (2001) 296; Phattar. & Chayam. (2007) 460. — Ostodes Blume sect. Euostodes Müll.Arg. (1865) 214, nom. inval.; (1866) 1114. — Ostodes Blume sect. Desmostemon (Thwaites) Pax in Pax & Hoffmann (1911) 18, nom. inval.; (1931) 157. — Type: Ostodes paniculata Blume. View in CoL

Shrubs to trees, dioecious (see note); branchlets with many leaf scars; red latex present. Indumentum of simple hairs, white, especially on young parts, caducous. Stipules small, very coriaceous, very early caducous, only present at end of branchlets. Leaves simple, alternate, mainly at end of branchlets; petiole indistinctly to distinctly pulvinate at both ends, apically often (especially on Java) with 2 glands (additional to those on blade base); blade symmetric, papery, base with two elevated (northern specimens) to shortly pedicellate ( W Malesian specimens) glands near the midrib, these sometimes indistinct, midrib thickened basally, margin serrulate (northern specimens) to coarsely serrate ( W Malesian specimens), teeth abaxially glandular, lower surface with hair tuft domatia between midrib and secondary nerves and in the main bifurcations of the secondary nerves in the basal part of the blade on Java (absent in northern specimens); venation basally triplinerved, otherwise penninerved, secondary nerves convex near margin, not looped and connecting, third order veins ± scalariform, higher order veinlets coarsely reticulate. Inflorescences axillary to ramiflorous, paniculate but with short branches in northern specimens when staminate, shorter when pistillate, sometimes a few together, subglabrous to very hairy, staminate ones often flattened; staminate flowers in unorderly cymes per node, pistillate ones single per node; bracts and bracteoles free or basally united, hairy on both sides. Flowers scented; pedicels with subbasal abscission zone, round in transverse section, (sub)- glabrous to hairy; calyx 5-lobed, basally united, lobes imbricate, often asymmetric, apices rounded, light green in bud to whitish cream, outside (sub)glabrous to densely shortly hairy, outer lobes smallest and more sepal-like, inner larger, often petal-like (especially on Java) but glabrous on inside (compared with petals), upper margin membranous; petals 5, smaller to larger than inner sepals, free, but often adnate to each other, white (to pink), glabrous except hairy basally on inside, apex round. Staminate flowers: disc glands c. 10, paired, low, thick ridges, radiating from heightened part of receptacle, glabrous; stamens 20 –41, white, between disc lobes and inner ones on heightened part of receptacle, outer ones almost or completely free, inner at most basally united, filaments narrowly trapezoid to winged, flat, strongly hairy, white, anthers basi-dorsifixed, elliptic to sagittate, whitish, opening introrse via lengthwise slits, usually bending backward to a horizontal position (then slits pointing upwards), thecae 2, connective dark brown; pistillode absent. Pistillate flowers: disc circular, flat, locally thickened, glabrous; ovary 3-locular, one ovule per locule, densely hairy with short hairs, interspaced with much longer ones, style short, strigose, stigmas basally strigose underneath, above papillate, becoming flatter towards the apex, once or twice bifid. Infructescences pendulous. Fruits usually only one per inflorescence, capsular, yellow greenish to brownish green to brown when fresh, with 6 longitudinal furrows, tardily partly to completely septicidally and partly to completely loculicidally dehiscent into 3 bivalved or 6 cocci, wall drying to a rough surface, with few long hairs, glabrescent, outer wall detaching, inner woody; pedicel thickened and increasing in thickness towards apex; columella basally and apically widened, easily fraying into 2– 3 strands. Seeds flattened ovoid to ellipsoid, longitudinally ridged on outside, somewhat triangular on inside, glabrous, smooth, without caruncle. Seedling (text from Gardner s186b1): primary root dull brownish yellow, secondary roots creamy brown, inner tissue pale cream; stem dark creamy brown with darker brown stria- tions and paler brownish cream lenticels near base, otherwise medium green; petioles pale green with creamy brown pulvinae near base in older leaves; blades medium green above, slightly greyish green or yellowish green below, veins on upper surface as lamina, midrib and secondary veins on lower surface pale greenish yellow, tertiary veins dark yellow-green; new leaves pale greenish brown with medium green veins covered with white hairs .

Distribution — Two species, one in China, the other with two varieties, one variety in N Thailand and China, the other in India ( Maharashtra, Sikkim, Assam), Myanmar, S China ( Yunnan, Hainan), Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Sumatra, Java.

Note — The plant is always noted as dioecious (e.g., Radcliffe-Smith 2001) and generally there are only flowers of one sex present in a specimen. However, specimens are found with two branches, one with staminate flowers and another, separate branch with fruits. These may come from different plants, but it is also possible that the different sexes appear on the same plant, but separated in time (dichogamous), whereby the staminate and fruit stage overlap. Another indication for this idea is that in O. paniculata var. katharinae the staminate flowers are always present among the new leaves, and the pistillate flowers among the older leaves. Field observations are needed to clarify the matter.