A note on the Petal-less Caper <Maerua apetala> (B.Heyne ex Roth) Jacobs (Capparaceae)
Abstract
The Petal-less Caper Maerua apetala (B.Heyne ex Roth) Jacobs (= Capparis apetala B.Heyne ex Roth) is a large-canopied but short dry evergreen tree, endemic to southeastern India. Though several publications on this species are available, none of them have reported its girth at breast height. Further, all publications reported it as deciduous tree with height ranging 4–10 m. During our field visit on 15 January 2022, we noticed a large tree of M. apetala measuring 3.30 m GBH and 10 m height inside Vattakottai Fort near Kanniyakumari which is the largest known tree. New distributional localities of this species in the districts of Kanniyakumari, Tirunelveli, and Madurai in Tamil Nadu State are also documented.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Botany and Plant Ecology Studies
Plant and Fungal Species Descriptions
African Botany and Ecology Studies
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Journal of Threatened Taxa
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 28428–28429
- Publication date
- 26 February 2026
- Language
- EN