Phyllanthaceae FAMILY

Glochidion obscurum

Edibility

0/5

Medicinal

2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree

Growth—

This species is noteworthy for its pollination mechanism, which involves a symbiotic relationship with moths of the genus Epicephala. This closely parallels that found in Yucca species^[1].

Propagation

Seed - Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Glochidion+obscurum>

Pollinators

Moths

References

[1]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
[2]Flora of Thailand - Euphorbiaceae — van Welzen P.C. · http://www.nationaalherbarium.nl/thaieuph/ ↩︎An excellent site with masses of information about the species of Euphorbia found in Thailand.
[3]Medicinal Plants of China — Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. · Reference Publications, Inc. · 1985 · ISBN 0-917256-20-4 ↩︎Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.
[4]Asean Tropical Plant Database — http://211.114.21.20/tropicalplant/index.jsp ↩︎Terse details, with photos, of many of the plants growing in the tropical forests of southeast Asia. Gives some details of plant uses along with a description of the plant and its range.