I have been looking for the botanical identity of Sita-patra - a tree whose leaves can be used for writing. Here is a photo of the leaves (alternate phyllotaxy). A botanist told me this is Premna tomentosa. Can anyone verify this? (I cannot give a photo of flowers, because there was no flowering in 15 years.)
Maybe this will help you. There is information on Premna tomentosa on page 77.
Thanks a lot, Hector. I studied the description closely, but in the absence of a flower at hand, I am not yet sure. One of the main feature of the leaf is that if you write/scratch on the leaf surface with a sharp stick, the lines will turn black. (The fluid turns dark on exposure to air.) Does anyone know if that's true for the leaf of any species of Premna ?
Dear Debal, from my view, it may bot be Premna tomentosa, and even not a Lamiaceae or Verbenaceae species. All Premna species have opposite phyllotaxis, and Premna tomentosa is easily distinguished from others by its densely stellate hairs on branches and leaves, and brown shoots. From your image, the taxa has alternate phyllotaxis and white shoot. As the feature you described, the leaves of the taxa would turn black or brown when dry. Some of Premna have similar feature (i.e. P. scoriarum, P. scandens), but Premna tomentosa not.
Can you provide larger or other images of the taxa, I will try to identify it for you.
This spring, for the first time in 15 years - the Sitapatra tree has come to flowering! I am still trying to find the taxonomic identity of this tree. Here are the photos of leaves, flowers and young twigs of the tree. Looking forward to your kind help, friends - esp. Dr. Bo Li and Hector Aguilar....
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