• Question from:Maija

It seems like my pictures got lost again. Sorry for the double question once more.

A couple of years ago I collected some seeds in Sri Lanka. To my own surprise, I got two of these pretty little trees that grew from smooth, brown seeds about the size of an avocado seed. Unfortunately I don't remember where I collected these: it could have been either from the sea shore or a rainforest reserve.

The first picture shows the tree as it is now, the second is the same plant newly sprouted with it's cotyledons, if it is of any help.

Fascinatingly, these trees have four to six pairs of tiny, sticky droplets on the underside of each leaf. They have a sweet taste (yes, I did try). I wonder if they're for attracting ants or something else.

I know there are most likely hundreds of trees in Sri Lanka, but would someone happen to have even the slightest idea what this might be?

Post's pictures

srilankalainen pieni.jpg, 689.19 kb, 888 x 1000

taimi pieni.jpg, 556.09 kb, 1000 x 733

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  • Brisbane, Queensland,, Australia
  • Posts: 181

As you there are many thousands of species in Sri Lanka, so it is unlikely that anyone will give you a name from a photo of a seedling.  Plant species are classthawed using a number of different characteristics, the most important of which relate to flower and fruit morphology.  Vegetative features, such as the size and shape of leaves, the arangement of leaves on the stem, and features of bark, sap and other structures are also used, but from adult plants.  Due to the different environment of forest understory from forest canopy, seedlings often show different vegetative characteristics to adults, which means you may have to wait a long time!  Shame you don't have a picture of the seed and a location, as they would help narrow down the options