Changes

*Small to medium-sized deciduous tree, sometimes up to 25 m tall but usually much shorter, up to 7.5 m; trunk often crooked and gnarled, up to 35 cm in diameter; bark thin, smooth, grey, peeling in patches, with numerous knobs. *Leaves alternate, distichous and densely crowded along lateral twigs, simple and entire, glabrous, sessile; stipules triangular; blade narrowly oblong, 5–25 mm × 1–5 mm, rounded and more or less oblique at base, acute or obtuse and mucronate at apex. *Flowers fascicled in axils of leaves or fallen leaves, unisexual, the male flowers numerous at base of young twigs, the female flowers solitary and higher up the twig; male flowers pedicellate, with 6 pale green perianth lobes 1.5–2.5 mm long and 3 entirely connate stamens; female flowers sessile, with 6 somewhat larger perianth lobes, a cup-like disk, and a superior 3-celled ovary crowned by 3 styles, connate for more than half of their length and deeply bifid at apex. *Fruit a depressed globose drupe up to 4 cm in diameter, pale green changing to yellow when mature; stone with 3 slightly dehiscent compartments, each usually containing 2 seeds. *Seeds trigonous, 4–5 mm × 2–3 mm.

Jansen, P.C.M., 2005. '''Phyllanthus emblica''' L. [Internet] Record from PROTA4U. In: Jansen, P.C.M. & Cardon, D. (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa / Ressources végétales de l’Afrique tropicale), Wageningen, Netherlands. <http://www.prota4u.org/search.asp>.