''Euonymus indicus'', the Indian spindle tree, is a small evergreen understorey tree in the family

Celastraceae The Celastraceae (staff-vine or bittersweet) are a family of 98 genera and 1,350 species of herbs, vines, shrubs and small trees, belonging to the order Celastrales. The great majority of the genera are tropical, with only ''Celastrus'' (the staf ...

. It can grow up to a height of 13 m and girth up to 1 m.

Description

The leaves are simple and show opposite phyllotaxy. The petiole length is about 0.5-0.8 cm and lamina size: 5-10 × 2-4.5 cm. Leaf shape is elliptic and leaf apex is acuminate. Four to six pairs of secondary nerves can be seen. Flowers are seen in three flowered axillary cymes. Fruit is pear shaped, 2.5 cm long, three valved, and scarlet when mature. The bark of the tree is corky and blaze is reddish in colour. The branchlets are subterate and glabrous.https://www.biotik.org/india/species/e/euonindi/euonindi_en.html

Distribution

''Euonymus indicus'' is native to much of tropical Asia, from India to both mainland and maritime Southeast Asia. In India, the tree is seen in the evergreen forests of Western Ghats from Amboli to Southern

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. Its elevation range is from 150 m to 1100 m.

References

indicus Flora of tropical Asia Plants described in 1824 {{Celastraceae-stub