Myristica fatua Houtt. var. magnifica (Beddome) Sincl.(MYRISTICACEAE)
Description: Lofty trees, up to 30 m tall, trunk when young furnished with large aerial roots from the trunk. Leaves oblong to oblong-elliptic, 25 – 60 x 7.5-20 cm, rounded at base, acute to acuminate at apex, silvery beneath. Flowers in clusters, small, dioecious, ovoid, up to 2 cm long, densely rusty tomentose. Perianth lobes 3, rusty-tomentose outside. Male flowers in 10-20-flowered cymes or umbels of 2-3 cm long. Stamens 10. Female flowers are arranged in 4-6-flowered cymes or umbels, each measuring 1-2 cm in length. The oblong fruits reach up to 10 cm in length and are densely tomentose. The seeds are subcylindric or ellipsoid, measuring up to 5 cm long, and they have an aril that is deeply and finely laciniate, appearing orange-red.
Flowering & Fruiting: June – October.
Distribution: India: In swampy areas of evergreen forests of Western Ghats. Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Endemic. A threatened taxon.
