Ceylon Tea is a large evergreen tree, upto 5 meters high. The genus name Elaeodendron means, olive tree - maybe referring to the ovoid fruit. Branchlets are
reddish; bark red inside, exuding a watery sap when cut. Leaves are simple,
opposite, 3-16 x 1.5-7.5 cm, elliptic, ovate-oblong or obovate, glabrous,
dark green, shining above, glaucous beneath; petiole 0.5-1 cm long,
channelled. Inflorescence is an axillary dichotomous cyme; Flower white or
greenish yellow. Stamens four, inserted on the margin of the disk,
recurved; anthers with a bilobed connective. Stamens shorter than petals.
Disk thick and fleshy. Ovary 4-celled united with the disk; style short;
fruit green in colour, ovoid and a drupe. In the Western Ghats, it is found
in Satara, Pune, Konkan (Harishchandragad). Flowering: February-May.
Identification credit: Prashant Awale
Photographed at Nimgiri, Maharashtra.
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The flower labeled Ceylon Tea is ...