Bark
Woody, greyish-brown; branches often thorny, with flowers and fruits sometimes arising from tuberculate older branches.
Gymnosporia rothiana
Syn. Maytenus rothiana
IUCN Red List
Least Concern
(LC)
Local name
- Deccan Spike Thorn (English)
- Tandasa (Kannada)
- Lokhandi (Marathi)
Shrub type
Evergreen
Deciduous
Family: Celastraceae
6m
Indicated uses
Medicinal
Edible
Ornamental
Avenue
Other
Flowering & fruiting
Flowering
Fruiting
Key characters
Leaves
Leaves 7.5-22 x 4-12 cm alternate, subcoriaceous, ovate-oblong or obovate serrate, apex obtuse or obtusely short-acuminate, cuneate at base; nerves obscure; petiole 5-15 mm long.
Flower
Flowers are very small, about 2–3 mm wide, greenish-white in colour, and arranged in small clusters at the leafless nodes of the branches.
Fruit / Seeds
Capsule 3-lobed, containing about 6 brownish-red, smooth, ellipsoid seeds; mature fruits are reported as bright red.
Did you know?
The name Gymnosporia is derived from the Greek words gymnos (meaning “naked”) and spora (meaning “seed”). This refers directly to the way the seeds are exposed, surrounded at the base by a prominent, fleshy, colorful growth called an aril.
Distribution
SW. India