柴龙树 chai long shu

Apodytes cambodiana Pierre; A. yunnanensis Hu.

Shrubs or trees, (3-)7-10(-20) m tall. Bark gray-white, smooth; branchlets gray-brown, lenticellate; young branches densely yellow puberulent. Petiole 1-2.5 cm, densely puberulent when young, becoming sparsely so; leaf blade adaxially yellow-green, black or black-brown when dry, elliptic or narrowly elliptic, 6-15 × 3-7.5 cm, glabrous or abaxially on midvein slightly hairy, lateral veins 5-8 pairs, conspicuous abaxially, reticulate veins slender, base cuneate, apex acute or shortly acuminate. Panicles terminal, densely yellow puberulent. Flowers light yellow or white; pedicel shorter than 1 mm, densely yellow puberulent. Calyx yellow-green, ca. 0.5 mm, outside sparsely puberulent. Petals yellow-green, oblong, ca. 4 × 1 mm. Filaments purple-green, ca. 1.5 mm; anthers yellow-green, ca. 1.5 mm. Ovary ca. 1.5 mm, densely yellow pubescent; style ca. 2.5 mm, glabrous. Drupe green when young, red to black-red when mature, oblong, ca. 10 × 7 mm, base with a discoid fleshy appendage, with persistent style. Fl. and fr. all seasons.

Sparse woods, dense forests, scrub; 500-1900 m. W Guangxi, S Hainan, S Yunnan [India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand; tropical and subtropical Africa].

Also known as "white pear," it is a good timber species.