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Operculicarya decaryi

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Below are from the southern-western part of Madagascar.

Author: J.M.H.A. Perrier de la Bāthie, 1944
Family:  ANACARDIACEAE
Origin:  South-West Madagascar
Soil:  Mix
Water:  Medium
Sun:  Medium
Thickness:  1 Meter
Height:  9 Meters
Flower:  Red / Brown
Propagate:  Seeds/Cuttings
Names:  Jabily
Synonyms:  -

This small tree is a member of the Anacardiaceae family, first described by Joseph Marie Henry Alfred Perrier de la Bāthie in 1944. It is found in the south-west of Madagascar, growing in well-drained soil with some water and lots of sun, but it can get too much. The stem will grow to one meter in diameter and reach for nine meters. The flowers are dark red to brown and it's possible reproduce the plant by cuttings.

The genera name from Latin operculum; 'little lid' and Greek karyum; 'nut', referring to the lidded, nut-like seeds. The species is named after Raymond Decary, 20th century plant collector.

O. decaryi is a thick stemmed tree with more or less straight pubescent branches and usually red flowers.

O. pachypus Eggli 1995 is a dwarf pachycaul (one meter high, 50 centimetres in diameter), with strongly zig-zagged smooth branches and yellowish-green flowers.

A. Randrianasolo  & P. P. Lowry, 2006: "Several additional features separate O. decaryi from other members of the genus whose leaves have a winged rachis, including leaflets that are totally glabrous below, and branches that are straight (rather than zig-zag in orientation, as in O. pachypus)".


The one is O. decaryi from Copenhagen Botanical Garden.


And it's flowers.


These are the flowers of O. pachypus, found at Mbuyu.