Aporosa cardiosperma
| Lindley's aporosa (Aporosa cardiosperma) | |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Aporosa cardiosperma [1] |
| Common names | Lindley's aporosa; valaka; sarole mara; salle gida [2] [3] |
| Genus | Aporosa [1] |
| Family | Phyllanthaceae [1] |
| Order | Malpighiales [1] |
| Habit | evergreen tree reported to about 15 m [2] |
| Fruit | globose capsule; historical record describes the fruit as small and berry-like [2] [4] |
| Native range | India and Sri Lanka; wet tropical biome [1] |
Aporosa cardiosperma is an evergreen fruiting tree native to India and Sri Lanka. It is accepted by Plants of the World Online and is associated with the wet tropical biome. [1] The species is also known as Lindley's aporosa, valaka, sarole mara, and salle gida. [2]
Description[edit | edit source]
The tree is reported to reach about 15 m and occurs in tropical semi-evergreen and evergreen forests and plains. Its leaves are simple and are described to about 15 cm long and 6 cm wide. The minute flowers are dioecious: male flowers occur in catkin-like spikes and female flowers in short racemes. The fruit is described botanically as a globose capsule that bursts irregularly when mature. [2]
The accepted name has been associated with the synonyms Aporosa lindleyana, Aporosa affinis, Aporosa sphaerocarpa, Croton cardiospermus, and Scepa lindleyana. Synonymy is useful when comparing older fruit-use and field records, but those records should not be treated as separate species evidence. [1] [3]
Cultivation[edit | edit source]
Soil and water[edit | edit source]
The native wet-tropical setting and occurrence in evergreen and semi-evergreen forest support beginning with an organic, free-draining soil that remains evenly moist during active growth. This is a habitat-based starting inference rather than a measured irrigation or waterlogging tolerance for the species. [1] [2]
Avoid treating a wet native climate as permission for stagnant media: maintain drainage while preventing prolonged drying of the root zone. The accessible botanical descriptions do not establish a species-specific irrigation schedule. [1] [2]
Sun and humidity[edit | edit source]
Evergreen and semi-evergreen forest habitat in a wet tropical biome supports a starting placement in bright filtered light with good atmospheric humidity. Protect young plants from prolonged hot, dry exposure until their response is known; this is a habitat-based cultivation inference, not a measured light or humidity limit. [1] [2]
Seasonal changes[edit | edit source]
The Indian flora account records flowering and fruiting from December through June. In cultivation, keep the root zone from drying during the local flowering and fruit-development period, while translating the reported months to the plant's local wet and dry or warm and cool rhythm rather than treating December-June as universal. [2]
The species is described as evergreen, so seasonal management is better framed around moisture and fruiting activity than around a presumed leafless dormancy. [2]
Propagation[edit | edit source]
Because the flowers are dioecious, a planting intended to produce fruit should preserve access to both male and female plants. Use correctly identified material and retain its provenance and sex records when establishing a collection; the available species account does not supply a reliable seed, cutting, or grafting schedule. [2]
Flowering, fruiting, and harvest[edit | edit source]
Male and female flowers are borne on separate plants. The male inflorescences are described as catkin-like spikes and the female inflorescences as short racemes. Flowering and fruiting are recorded from December through June in the Indian flora account, and the globose capsules are described as bursting irregularly. [2]
The historical record under the synonym Aporosa lindleyana calls the small, berry-like fruit edible. That brief record gives no preparation, maturity criterion, quantity, toxicity assessment, or modern food-safety evaluation, so it supports only a qualified historical food-use statement rather than a safety clearance. [4]
Fruit and uses[edit | edit source]
A 2016 collection of ripe A. cardiosperma fruits from the Kerala part of the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve was analyzed as part of a study of ten underutilised fruits. [5] The edible portion was measured for phenolics, flavonoids, ascorbic acid, and DPPH antioxidant activity. These are laboratory composition and assay results, not evidence of medical benefit, safe dosage, or cultivation performance. [5]
The fruit's documented human-use context remains limited to the qualified historical edibility record. Any food use should not be inferred from the laboratory assays alone. [4] [5]