Poikilospermum suaveolens - Fragrant Conehead

Fragrant Conehead is a large evergreen climber with woody stem. Male inflorescences are symmetrically branched 2-3 times, 3.5-6 x 3-7 cm; bracts boat-shaped, 6-10 mm; glomerules 5-7 mm in diameter. Female inflorescences are symmetrically branched 1 or 2 times, 4-8 x 5-9 cm; primary flower-cluster-stalk longer than secondary; bracts as males; glomerules 2.5-3.5 cm in diameter, 3.5-5 cm in diameter in fruit. Male flowers are stalkless, obovoid, 1.5-2 mm; tepals 4, tip incurved, velvet-hairy; stamens 4; filaments straight, short. Female flowers have flower-stalk 3-7 mm; stigma shortly strap-shaped. Branchlets are gray-brown when dry; velvet-hairy, soon hairless. Stipules are often persistent in upper nodes, strongly crescent-shaped, 2-4 cm. Leaf-stalks are 5-10 cm, leaf blade broadly ovate, elliptic, or obovate, 10-35 x 7-23 cm, lateral veins 7-14 pairs, both surfaces hairless, base broad wedge-shaped, rounded, or heart-shaped, tip blunt or pointed.Achene oblong-obovoid, 3-5 mm, verrucose. Fragrant Conehead is found in moist places, rain forests, monsoon forests, near streams, at altitudes of 500-600 m, in East Himalayas, SE Asia and Andaman and Nicobar. Flowering: April-May.