Hello friends, could this be Melastoma?


... click on photo for another view.

at Veermata Jeejabai Bhosale Udyan, Mumbai

Definitely from Melastomataceae - the flowers and the parallel veined leaves are indicators. But the genus Osbeckia should also be explored.

OK. I will take the tip, Tabish.
Thanks very much.

O. chinensis is quite similar to O. nepalensis
- chinensis: 8-10 stamens
- nepalensis: 10 stamens

O. chinensis has two varieties:
var. angustifolia: leaf blade oblong-ovate to elliptic-ovate
var. chinensis: leaf blade linear, linear-lanceolate, or very rarely ovate- lanceolate

I find this plant to be O. chinensis var. angustifolia (or simply Osbeckia angustifolia)

I could not find any common names.

Referred http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200014983
More of Osbeckias are described in a PDF at http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/PDF/PDF13/Osbeckia.pdf

Tabish, you may review, and once again thanks very much.  


PS: Beats me to know that angustifolia meaning: having narrow leaves, in this case, has quite on the contrary!!  

--Last edited by dinesh valke on 2008-02-28 09:31:36 --

Dinesh, I share your doubt about the name angustifolia. For one, why would the leaves, like the ones in your pic, be called angustifolia? Secondly, according to the descrïption at efloras, their broadest form would be 3X1 cm. In your pic, the length breadth ratio doesn't look larger than 2:1.

Dinesh, it looks like Osbeckia, which I had suggested, should be ruled out. References say that Osbeckias have all the anthers similar. Melastomas have dissimilar stamens, numbering twice the number of petals.
Your flower shows 5 purple, curved anthers, and 5 yellow anthers.

Your flower seems to agree quite well with Melastoma malabathricum, except that is leaves don't agree satisfyingly.
One detailed reference
http://www.uni-mainz.de/FB/Biologie/Botanikspeziell/web_old/Botanikspeziell/oldPages/Melastomataceae/Mmalabathricum.html
says
Notes - Melastoma malabathricum is the most widespread and morphologically most variable species of the genus, resulting in the descrïption of many separate species.

It describes the leaves of Melastoma malabathricum ssp. malabathricum as
Leaves elliptic to lanceolate, 6--15 x 2--6.5 cm, occasionally narrowly lanceolate to oblong, 4--6 x 0.6--1.5 cm, base rounded to acute, apex acuminate;

What say you?  

--Last edited by tabish on 2008-02-28 19:45:05 --

Yes, then it must be M. malabathricum.

Dinesh, I am putting this up. If any fresh doubt crops up, do let me know.

OK.

Nandan, could this be Schizocentron elegans that you are referring?

I think nandan is referring to this. Only the current name seems to be Heterocentron elegans.
So, finally that uncomfortable feeling is settling down.
And this one is from Melastomataceae. I did not know about this genus.

However, the leaves don't seem to agree with the web images I see.... Dinesh, what do u say?

Me too no !!
And kudos to Nandan, and many thanks ... for nailing it.

Hey Dinesh, check out this Dissotis rotundifolia.
Leaves of this one has parallel veins, like in your pic:

As it is there were many Melastoma

I quickly agreed to Nandan's point because the plant was a (prostrate) creeper ... I did not think of anything else.  

Look at this descrïption from hear.org
http://www.hear.org/Pier/species/dissotis_rotundifolia.htm
"...anthers of larger stamens pink or lavender, 7-8 mm long, connective prolonged 3-4 mm and modified basally into a deeply 2-lobed spur 1.5-2 mm long..."
And look at this zoomed part of Dinesh's picture


I think Heterocentron elegans have 4-petalled flowers (need to confirm it properly), and the leaves do have three parallel veins.  

--Last edited by tabish on 2008-05-27 11:55:57 --