Chionanthus malaelengi (Wallich ex G. Don) Beddome (OLEACEAE)
Description: Trees, 8-10 m tall with smooth, shiny bark. Leaves elliptic or elliptic-oblong, 5-12 x 2-5 cm, acute at both ends, glabrous, coriaceous; main nerves inconspicuous; petioles ca 1.5 cm long. Flowers sessile, in 3-4 cm long branched axillary cymes, yellowish-white, odor of ripe apples. Calyx small, lobes 4. Corolla lobes 4. Stamens 2; filaments very short. The ovary is divided into two chambers; the style is brief, and the stigma splits briefly into two parts. The fruit, classified as a drupe, is ellipsoidal, measuring between 0.8 and 1.5 centimeters in length and 0.6 to 0.8 centimeters in width, taking on a purplish hue when it reaches ripeness. It contains a single seed.
Flowering & Fruiting : November – March.
Distribution: India: Common in evergreen forests of Western Ghats, up to 1300 m.
