It’s great that the key worked to get you to the correct family, and that you found the species based on the Indonesian common name.

Here’s a good botanical description of the genus Ixora:

http://flora.huh.harvard.edu:8080/actkey/taxon_view.jsp?taxonGroupId=206&taxonNo=385&setId=2061

The ovary is below the petal structure, yes.

I just looked quickly at an Ixora that we have growing here, and I couldn’t find sepals, either, even though this description says there are 4. I’ll look into this a little further and get back to you.

I tried identifying a plant using the materials in this site and got a Rubiaceace. Afterwards I googled for the Indonesian common name and it is indeed a Rubiaceace species, Ixora coccinea.

I’m not sure about the ovary’s location though:

Is it on the bulky structure above or somewhere down below?

Also am I correct to assess that the flower doesn’t have sepal?

Thanks a lot

This site, beginning with this lesson, is an amazingly wonderful gift! I am one of those people who has difficulty retaining specifics, especially about plants, but both my husband and I love them and look forward to learning more. We have land in Chiriqui and will be passionate tropical gardeners one day. We also hope to ID the plants in our little patch of jungle. Thanks. You have two new fans!

Kathleen

Thank you so much for your interest! I hope the site can meet your expectations. Do feel free to ask questions if anything is not clear to you.

Happy botanizing!

Mary

This is simply spectacular. I’ve been a gardener all my adult life but have very rudimentary knowledge of botany. Although my son is a mathematical ecologist and college professor, he didn’t get those genes from me! Most things science scare me to death. But your site is so accessible! I’m going to get educated.

Bonnie

Thanks for your kind remarks. I do promise to continue with more botanical terms beyond the first 19. The language is its own, and it has slowed me down and puzzled me greatly along the way, so I know the importance of getting more words up there.

Thanks again.

Mary

One thing I find myself strongly lacking is my repository of (Indonesian and English) botanical terms like “stipule” and “stamen” (both of which I just heard recently). I’ve only read the first half on this particular article, but I hope the other (and upcoming?) articles on this site will strengthen my knowledge on this particular area. The “19 basic botanical terms” seems to be a nice article for this :).

Thanks a lot