铁线子 tie xian zi

Mimusops hexandra Roxburgh, Pl. Coromamdel 1: 16. 1795.

Shrubs or trees, 3--12 m tall. Bark gray. Branchlets glabrous. Leaves alternate, often closely clustered at end of branchlets, with conspicuous scars; petiole 0.8--2 cm; leaf blade obovate to obovate-elliptic, 5--10 X 3--7 cm, both surfaces glabrous, base broadly cuneate to obtuse, apex retuse, midrib raised abaxially, lateral veins slender and parallel, veinlets dense. Flowers axillary, fascicled. Pedicel thick, 1--1.8 cm. Sepals ovate-triangular, 3--4 mm, outside yellowish gray tomentose. Corolla white or light yellow, ca. 4 mm; lobes oblong, ca. 3 mm. Stamens ca. 5 mm; staminodes 2-parted, lobes linear, ca. 3 mm. Ovary ovoid, ca. 2 mm, 6-locular, tomentose. Berry obovoid-oblong to ellipsoid, 1--1.5 cm, 1- or 2-seeded. Seeds ca. 8--10 mm. Fl. Aug-Dec.

Thickets; low elevations. S Guangxi, SW Hainan [Cambodia, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam]

Seeds contain 25% edible oil and are of medicinal value.