Ardisia littoralis Andr.

കടൽ ചെറി

Family : MYRSINACEAE

Synonym : Ardisia humilis sensu Clakre

Common Names : Kadal cherry, Coralbush

Flowering Period : April-September

Distribution : India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Malesia

Habitat : Mangrove swamps and backwaters

Uses : mangrove associated plant

Key Characters :
Erect branched shrub to 1.5 m tall. Leaves clustered towards the ends of the branches, 5-11 x 2.4-5 cm, obovate-oblong or elliptic, base cuneate, apex acute or subobtuse, coriaceous; petiole to 1 cm long. Inflorescence axillary or lateral umbels, rarely lengthened into racemes; peduncle 2-3 cm long. Flowers pink; pedicels 0.8-1.4 cm long, stout. Calyx 3-5 mm long; lobes elliptic, obtuse, with membranous margins, in fruit enlarged, orbicular, closely pressed to the berry. Corolla-lobes 5-7 mm long, obliquely ovate-acuminate, gland-dotted. Berry 5-7 mm across, dipressed globose, apiculate, red at first turning purplish black.