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Sabiaceae FAMILY

Meliosma rigida

Meliosma rigida

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
Growth—

Meliosma rigida is native to subtropical and tropical regions, from sea level to elevations of up to 3,000 metres. It is not a very cold-hardy plant, tolerating short-lived temperatures down to around -5°c when dormant, but usually succeeds outdoors in the milder regions of the temperate zone[1] Found in the wild on a range of different soils, in dry as well as wet places[2]. The pollen ripens and the anther-cells burst while the flower is still in bud, but the pollen is still unable to escape from the anther-cells as these are locked in the cavities of the staminodes. When the bud is fully mature, it explodes at the slightest touch, the stamens snapping backwards and flinging a puff of pollen into the air. When the flower is open, petals and stamens, having done their duty, very soon drop off; hence in a Meliosma panicle almost only buds and passed flowers are found, but very few intact open flowers[3].

Propagation

Seed - Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Meliosma+rigida>

Pollinators

Self

References

  1. [1]New Trees — Grimshaw J.; Bayton R.; Wilks H. · Kew Publishing; London · 2009 · ISBN 1842461737 ↩︎Provides comprehensive botanical descriptions and horticultural commentary on over 800 tree species that have been introduced to cultivation in recent decades.
  2. [2]Flora Malesiana Series 1 — Various · Nationaal Herbarium Nederiand, Universiteit Leiden branch · http://www.archive.org ↩︎A massive treatment of the plants of the Malaysian Archipelago. Much of it has been made available to download from the Internet
  3. [3]Revision of Meliosma (Sabiaceae), section Lorenzanea excepted, Living and Fossil, Geography and Phylogeny — C.F. Van Beusekom · 1971 ↩︎
  4. [4]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.