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Himalayan Daphne-Leaf
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Himalayan Daphne-Leaf
E Native Photo: Amber Srivastava
Common name: Himalayan Daphne-Leaf • Nepali: रक्त चन्दन Rakta chandan
Botanical name: Daphniphyllum himalense    Family: Daphniphyllaceae (Daphne-Leaf family)
Synonyms: Daphniphyllum benthamii, Goughia himalensis

Himalayan Daphne-Leaf is a tree 5-12 m tall. with branchlets stout, white warty, young branches dark brown. Leaf-stalks are reddish, 2-5 mm; leaf blade oblong-lanceshaped, oblong, or oblong-elliptic, 10-21 x 2.5-7 cm, papery or thinly leathery, glaucous and finely papillate below, green and shining above in dried state, base wedge-shaped or blunt, tip pointed or tapering; lateral veins 10-14 pairs, prominent below and slightly impressed above. Male flowers: inflorescence 3-5 cm; flower-stalk 4-8 mm; sepal-cup absent; stamens 8-12; filaments about 1 mm; anthers oblong, about 1 mm. Female flowers: inflorescence 4-6 cm; flower-stalk 7-13 mm; sepal-cup absent; staminodes 5 around ovary; ovary ovoid, glaucous; style branches recurved. Infructescence 7.5-9.5 cm; drupe ellipsoidal, 12-14 x 7-9 mm, smooth, glaucous; style branches persistent. Himalayan Daphne-Leaf is found in forests in Bhutan, NE India, N Myanmar, E Nepa, and China, at altitudes of 1200-2500 m.

Identification credit: Amber Srivastava Photographed at Mossy fall, Mussoorie, Uttarakhand.

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