• Family : DILLENIACEAE
  (DILLENIA FAMILY)
• Family (as per The Plant List) : Dilleniaceae
• Species : Dillenia indica
• Species Name (as per The Plant List) : Dillenia indica L.
• Common name : Elephant Apple
• Vernacular name : Chalta (Hin.); Betta kanigala, Kalthega (Kan.); Uva (Tam.); Pedda kalinga, Uva, Chinna kali (Tel.); Awoo, Oao, Rai, Dau, Uvu (Ori.); Bhavaya (San.)
• Key identification features : An elegant, medium-sized tree. Leaves are broad and long with many lateral veins and regularly toothed margin. Its large white flowers, up to 12 cm across, are very beautiful. The cricket ball-sized fruits mature slowly and detach from the tree only after the next flowering season. Bark is smooth, cinnamon-brown and peeling.
• Habit : Tree
• Flower, Fruit : May-February
• Comments : Occasional in moist deciduous forest. Fruits are used as laxative. Leaves and bark are astringent.
• Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
• Distribution Locality : Anantagiri Hills (Visakhapatnam district), Rampa Hills (East Godavari district), West Godavari district, Tirumala Hills (Chittoor district), Srikakulum district (Andhra Pradesh State); Similipal Hills (Mayurbhanj district) (Odisha State)
• World Distribution : India, China, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand, Siam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Malay Peninsula
• Literature : Pullaiah et al., 2002 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 1; H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1 ; R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District ; H. O. Saxena and M. Brahmam, 1989 - The Flora of Similipal, Orissa; Franklin Benjamin & G.V.S.Murthy, 2013. Flora of Sri Venkateswara National Park, Andhra Pradesh, BSI.
• Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Arun Singh R., Deepak Kumar, Raja K Swamy and Navendu Page (2016). Digital Flora of Eastern Ghats. http://easternghats.ces.iisc.ernet.in/plants.php?name=Dillenia indica. Downloaded on 30 June 2024.

Description

Field Images