Ixora pavetta
Species of plant
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ixora pavetta, the torch tree,[1] is a plant in the family Rubiaceae. This species is found in South Asia. The species is commonly seen in Ballari district of Karnataka, India. People use the branches of this tree for making walls and paste with mud for their thatched huts in villages, but now this practice has become obsolete owing to modern housing materials.
| Ixora pavetta | |
|---|---|
| |
| Ixora pavetta flower | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Gentianales |
| Family: | Rubiaceae |
| Genus: | Ixora |
| Species: | I. pavetta |
| Binomial name | |
| Ixora pavetta | |
Summer is the fruiting season and the fruits are globose, 2-seeded, become black when ripened. Indian sloth bears eat the fruits and the seeds are dispersed through its scat.[2]
It is a shrub or small tree native to South Asia, including India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and the Nicobar Islands.[3] The species is commonly known as the torch tree due to its clusters of small white flowers.[4]
Description
Ixora pavetta grows as an evergreen shrub or small tree. The leaves are simple, opposite, glossy, and elliptic to lanceolate in shape. The plant produces dense terminal clusters of fragrant white flowers. The fruits are globose berries that turn black when ripe and usually contain two seeds.[5]
