FoI
Petal-less Caper
Share Foto info
Petal-less Caper
D Native Photo: A. Lalithamba
Common name: Petal-less Caper • Telugu: Lukki chettu
Botanical name: Maerua apetala    Family: Capparaceae (Caper family)
Synonyms: Capparis apetala

Petal-less Caper is a thornless tree up to 10 m tall. Leaves are found only on young shoots, trifoliate. Leaflets are linear-oblong, 4-7 x 1-1.5 cm, hairless. Flowers are fragrant, creamish tinged with purple, borne in corymbs at branch ends. Stamens are many. Berry is oblong-ovoid, 1-2-ridged, 1.3 cm long. Seeds are embedded in a scarlet pulp. Petal-less Caper is found all over Eastern Ghats. Flowering: April-July.
Medicinal uses: A paste of the root bark is applied for leucoderma, and the extract is given orally for the same, by Chenchu and Lambadi people. Tender leaves are ground with spices and the paste made into pills are given orally for nervous disorder and foot pain by Chenchu people.

Identification credit: S. Kasim Photographed in Tamil Nadu.

• Is this flower misidentified? If yes,