Description: Evergreen trees, dioecious in nature, reaching heights of up to 20 meters. The leaves are oblong-lanceolate, with dimensions of up to 27 x 10 cm, featuring an acute to rounded base and an acuminate apex, while the underside is glaucous. Male flowers in fascicles in axillary panicles. Perianth 3-4-lobed, pubescent. Connective combined in an oblong thick column; anthers adnate, to column at base, free at apex. Female flowers in axillary racems. Perianth 3-4-lobed, pubescent. Ovary hairy; stigmas sessile. Fruits subglobose, up to 2.5 cm across. Seeds arillate; aril laciniate almost to the base, red.

Flowering & Fruiting: June – August.

Distribution: India: In evergreen and semi-evergreen forests on windward side ofWestern Ghats at low levels. Karnataka and Kerala. Malaysia.

Uses: Wood light red to greyish brown, soft, considered to be a fair plank wood. The seeds can be used in the making of candles as they contain much fat.

Common names
Kannada: Kadujane, Kaduvame.

Description: Scandent shrubs; young parts clothed with ferruginous stellate hairs. Leaves elliptic to ovate-oblong, up to 12.5 x 8 cm, rounded or subcordate at base, oblique, acute to acuminate at apex, crenate – serrate with lower serrations glandular, scabrid on both surfaces, palmately 3-nerved. Flowers in axillary or leaf-opposed, fulvous – pubescent, umbellate cymes. Sepals 5, linear-oblong, ca 1.8 x 0.2 cm, densely pubescent. Petals 5, oblong-lanceolate, 7-9 mm long, acute, with marginally pilose glands at base, white. Stamens many. The ovary is 4-lobed and 4-locular, covered in fine hairs. The drupes are fleshy, 4-lobed, measuring 1-2 cm across, adorned with scattered stellate hairs, and are of a purple-black color.

Flowering: April – January.
Fruiting: December – March.

Distribution: India: In semi-evergreen and deciduous forests of Western Ghats. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Endemic.

Description: Large shrubs or small trees up to 5 m tall; branches puberulous, some what zig-zag. Leaves membranous alternate, elliptic-oblong or oblong-lanceolate or obovate, apex acuminate, base acute or rounded, merous 4-6 pairs, joining in marginal loops, up to 9-12.5 x 2.5 cm. The fruit is an oblong or obconic drupe with remnants of a persistent stigma, situated on axillary structures measuring up to 1.5 x 0.5 cm. The seed is solitary and pendulous.

Flowering & Fruiting: Not known.

Distribution: India: In evergreen forests. Sri Lanka.

Description: Evergreen trees, up to 30 m tall. Leaves elliptic to oblong-lanceolate, up to 15.5 x 5 cm, acute at base, obtuse or obtusely acuminate at apex, crenate. Flowers solitary or 2-3 fascicled at the ends of branches, ca 3 cm in diam., white. Sepals 5, unequal, orbicular, pubescent outside. Petals 5, obovate, notched at tip or erose, pubescent outside. Stamens numerous, connate at base. Ovary 3-locular, white-pubescent; stigmas 3. The capsules are oblong with a short acumen, measuring 2-3 x 1.5 cm, and have a 5-angled structure that dehisces into 5 valves. The seeds are compressed, ellipsoid, ranging from 3-7 x 2 mm, and feature wings.

Flowering & Fruiting: October – May.

Distribution: India: In evergreen forests of Western Ghats between 500 – 2000 m.Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Endemic.

Common names
Tulu: Nokate.
Tamil: Ana-pendu.

Description: A sizable, persistent, sturdy climber characterized by thick, brown, rough bark with a scaly texture. The branchlets are slender, with thickened nodes. Leaves opposite, ovate-oblong or elliptic, 7-18 x 4-10 cm, obtuse or shortly apiculate at base, acute to acuminate at apex, longitudinally wrinkled when dry; main nerves 6-8 pairs; petioles ca 2 cm long. Flowers monoecious, whorled in the axils of cupular bracts in panicled spikes; bracts of the male flowers closely imbricate, those of the female interrupted. Perianth narrowly clavate, entire or valvately 2-fid in female flowers. Male flowers: staminal column adnate to the base of the perianth, apex exserted; anthers of 2 distinct cells, sessile. Female flowers: ovule ovoid or globose; styliform tube exserted; stigma 3-fid. Fruit a drupe, in spikes of 8-25 cm long, olive shaped or ellipsoid, 2.5 – 4.0 cm long, reddish-orange when ripe, obtuse at the apex, pulp intermixed with many tender spicules. Seed solitary, ellipsoid, hard

Flowering & Fruiting: December – June.

Distribution: India: W. Peninsula, Sikkim, Assam, Andaman Islands. Common in evergreen forests, up to 1500 m. Malaya peninsula, Archipelago, China Seeds are roasted and eaten.

Common names
Sanskrit: Gumbhari, Kaashmariya
Kannada: Shivani Gumadi, Kumalamaram.
Malayalam: Kumbil.
Telugu: Gummadi, Gumar tek.

Description: Deciduous trees, ranging from 10 to 20 meters in height, feature greyish-yellow bark, with branchlets and young parts covered in a fine white mealy pubescence. Leaves opposite, broadly ovate, 10-22 x 7-15 cm, subcordate or truncate at base, acuminate at apex, glabrous above when mature, stellately fulvous – tomentose beneath; petioles 5-8 cm long. Flowers in 10-25 cm long axillary or terminal paniculate cymes, brownish-yellow. Calyx companulate, tomentose without, lobes 5. Corolla, densely hairy outside, lobes 5, brownish-yellow. Stamens 4, didynamous, inserted; filaments long. Ovary 4-locular; style long; stigma subulate. Fruit a drupe, obovate, ovoid or pyriform, ca 2.5 cm long, smooth, orange-yellow when ripe. Seeds oblong

Flowering & Fruiting: January – May.

Distribution: India: Throughout in the deciduous forests and hills, up to 1700 m. Sri Lanka, Malaya and Philippine Islands Wood yellowish to reddish white when first exposed, aging to light russet or yellowish brown, light to moderately heavy, hard, strong, elastic, lustrous with a smooth feel, durable in contact with water. One of the best and most reliable timber of India, used for furniture, planking, venetian-blinds, light cooperage, carriages, printing blocks, carving, musical instruments, shafts, axles, lacquered boxes, picture-frames, artificial limbs, jute bobbins, loom parts, calipers, mine props, etc. It is also employed for bridges, well work and ship building. The wood is suitable for tea-chest plywood, paper making, match sticks and matchboxes. Leaves good fodder for cattle. Plant antidote for snakebite and scorpion sting; root galactogogue, demulcent, tonic, stomachic, laxative, antibilious, used in anasarca; bark used in headache; root and bark febrifuge; leaf demulcent, bechic, used in gonorrhoea and for removing fetid discharges and worms from ulcers; fruit enters into cooling decoctions, used in fevers and bilious affections. Leaf is an ingredient of “Dasamula”.

Description: The trees can reach heights of up to 12 meters, with tomentose branchlets. The leaves are arranged alternately, oblong, elliptic-oblong, or ovate-elliptic in shape, nearly equal and rounded at the base, broadly acute at the apex, and exhibit a pubescent underside, turning dark brown when dry. Flowers in axillary clusters; male flowers pedicelled, female sessile. Perianth 5-6 in male, 4-6-lobed or toothed in female. Anthers 3, connate by their connectives in a column. Ovary hairy; style depressed-subglobose. Capsules depressed-globose, pubescent, crowned by the persistent hairy style.

Flowering & Fruiting: November – May.

Distribution: India: In moist forests of Western Ghats and West Coast. Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala. Endemic.

Description: Trees, up to 10 m tall; branchlets glabrous. Leaves alternate, lanceolate or elliptic-lanceolate, up to 14 x 4.5 cm, unequal at base, acuminate at both ends, turning black when dry. Flowers in axillary clusters; male flowers pedicelled, female sessile. Perianth lobes 6. Three stamens are fused into a column by their connectives. The ovary has five locules and is densely hairy, while the style is conical. The capsules are depressed globes, measuring approximately 1 cm across.

Flowering & Fruiting: September- March

Distribution: India: In evergreen forests of Western Ghats, up to 1200 m. Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Endemic.

Common names
English: Mysore Gamboge.
Kannada: Jarige, Devagarige (Konakni : Dhanambe).
Malayalam: Anavya.

Description: Trees, up to 20 m tall with a beautiful dense pyramidal crown; branches patent, ends dropping, 6-8- angular; bark blackish or dark grey, exfoliating in small round flakes, exuding gum; latex milky or pale green, turning yellow on exposure. Leaves linear – oblong or oblong – lanceolate, 12-45×4-12 cm, cuneate at base, acute to acuminate at apex, coriaceous, dark green, shiny; lateral veins 15-20 pairs, distinct, subparallel; petioles 1-2.5 cm long, stout. Stipules fleshy, adnate, intrapetiolar. Flowers small, in axillary or from the axils of fallen leaves fasciles of 4-10 flowers, white or cream-coloured. Sepals 5, rarely 4, unequal, orbicular, fleshy, persistent. Petals 5, thin. Male flowers: Stamens 15-20 in 5 broad bundles of 3-5 each; rudimentary pistil absent. Female flowers: Staminodes few, in an interrupted ring. The ovary is 5-locular with 5 stigmas. The fruit is a subglobose berry, reaching a diameter of up to 6.5 cm, displaying a dark yellow color with plentiful yellow gum. The seeds, numbering 1-4, are oblong and can measure up to 3.5×1.8 cm, appearing brown.

Flowering & Fruiting: Throughout the year.

Distribution: India: In evergreen, semi-evergreen, moist deciduous and in the lower hill forests up to 1400 m. Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Orissa, Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.Bangladesh, China, Malaya Peninsula, Myanmar and Thailand. Sometimes cultivated.

Uses: The fruit has a juicy pulp with a pleasant acrid flavour. It is made into preserves and jams. It can be used in place of tamarind for curries and in the preparation of vinegar. The exudation from the under-ripe fruit, which is yellow in colour, and the bark are used in Assam for dyeing. Fruit cathartic, used in abdominal disorders, vomiting, piles, anaemia, fever, giddiness and cardiac diseases; sherbet from dried fruits is used in biliousness.

Common names
English: Mysore Gamboge tree, Indian Gamboge tree.
Kannada: Ardala or Hardala, Devanahuli.
Malayalam: Chingiri, Daramba.

Description: Trees, up to 17 m tall with spreading branches and dense crown; branchlets quadrangular; bark brownish-grey or brown to dark brown, exuding brilliant, dark yellow, sticky, thick latex. Leaves elliptic, ovate, obovate or oblanceolate, 10-16×4-9 cm, acute or cuneate at base, obtuse or shortly obtuse-acuminate at apex; lateral veins slender, obliquely parallel; petioles 8-10 mm long. Male flowers ca 3 in axillary, leafy fascicles or on old wood, faintly fragrant. Sepals 4, greenish white. Petals 4, white to pink. Stamens numerous (25-40) in a central, subglobose mass; anthers red. Rudimentary pistil absent. Female flowers solitary, axillary, equal to or larger than male flowers. Sepals persistent. Staminodes 10-12, connate at base into a ring round the ovary. Ovary 4-locular; stigmas yellow, turning brown-red, persistent. The fruit is a berry, either subglobose or globose, measuring 2-3 cm in diameter. It is smooth, sessile, and exhibits a yellowish color, containing yellow gamboges. The pulp is both sweet and acidic. The seeds, numbering 4, are kidney-shaped and dark brown with a muricate texture.

Flowering & Fruiting: November-July, fruits persist till December

Distribution: India: In evergreen, moist and dry deciduous forests from plains up to 1000 m. North-east India and Western Ghats. Meghalaya, Assam, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Malacca.

Uses:

• The seed oil, also known as ‘butter,’ finds application in cooking and confectionery, serving as a substitute for ghee. Additionally, it is utilized in the production of candles. Wood greyish yellow, very hard, used for cabinet work and temporary structures. It yields a beautiful pigment after attaining 20 years of age. This is the indigenous source of ‘gamboge’ The pigment is used in preparing water colours and golden-coloured spirit varnishes for metals and for dyeing silk fabrics.
• A golden yellow ink is also made for writing on black paper. The fruit rind is used in tanning. Gum-resin anthelmintic, hydragogue, cathartic, used in dropsy, splenic disorders, pain, wounds, amenorrhoea, obstinate constipation and cerebral congestion when rapid lowering of blood pressure is desired.