Vaccinium dunalianum Wight

Habit

Epiphytic shrub

Family Description

Trees, shrubs, or subshrubs, often evergreen, sometimes epiphytic. Leaves alternate, sometimes becoming aggregate into pseudo-whorls, simple, pinnately veined, exstipulate. Flowers in racemes, corymbs, panicles, clusters or solitary, actinomorphic or zygomorphic, bisexual. Calyx of 5(-8)sepals, free and borne on ovary, or united into tube at base. Corolla of 5(-10)petals united at base or almost to apex, tubular, barrel-shaped, urn-shaped, campanulate, funnel-shaped or salver-shaped. Ovary inferior or superior, 4-5(-20)-celled; style cylindric; stigmasimple; ovules numerous, axile. Fruit a berry or 5(-20)-valved capsule, sometimes enclosed by enlarged fleshy calyx.. . Members of the Ericaceae are of great horticultural importance in North temperate countries, particularly in Europe and north America where many genera are prized as ornamentals, including Rhododendron (by far the most important), Enkianthus, Pieris, Gaultheria, Vaccinium and Agapetes. Bhutan is particularly rich in Ericaceae, and there exists some economic potential for commercial production ot the rare species.. . The family is treated here in a broad sense, including those genera sometimes placed separately in Vacciniaceae.

Genus Description

Evergreen Shrubs, sometimes epiphytic. Leaves alternate, or +/-whorled, entire or serrulate, sometimes falsely whorled. Flowers or terminal racemes, or solitary, bearing bracts on rachis, and bracteoles on pedicels,. Sepals 5, borne around top of ovary. Petals 5, united into a barrel-shaped or urn-shaped tube, lobes short often recurved. Stamens10, free; anthers with 2 tubular tips(opening at apex) and 2 shorter dorsal spurs. Ovary inferior, terete, 5-celled; style simple. Fruit a 5-lobed globose fleshy berry, bearing persistent sepals; seeds numerous, ellipsoid.

Species description

Epiphytic shrub 1.5-5m, glabrous. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, 6-10x2-3.5cm, apex caudate, c 2cm, base broadly cuneate, margins entire, slightly recurved, glabrous and green beneath; petioles 4-7mm, early caducous. Sepals triangular, 2mm. Corolla urn-shaped, 4-7x4-6mm, green, tinged crimson; lobes small, recurved. tubular anther tips 2mm; dorsal spurs 1mm; filaments glabrous. Fruit globose, c 5x3mm.