Herbarium JCB

Drypetes roxburghii (Wall.) Hurusawa

Family : EUPHORBIACEAE
(SPURGE FAMILY)
Family (as per The Plant List) : Putranjivaceae
Species : Drypetes roxburghii
Species Name (as per The Plant List) : Putranjiva roxburghii Wall.
Common name : Indian Amulet Tree, Putranjiva
Vernacular name : Putranjiva, Jivputrak, Jiyapota (Hin.); Putranjivi (Kan.); Parupala, Sannimaram, Kattupacheeli (Tam.); Putrajivika, Kuduru, Kudrajivi (Tel.); Pointundia, Poichandia, Poisundia (Ori.); Putrajivah, Putranjiva (San.)
Collection Nos : HJCB-E-0003
Collector(s) Name : Arun Singh R. & K.R.K.Swamy
Collection Date : 11/09/14
Collection Locality : Kavalur Observatory, Javadhu Hills, Tiruvannamalai district, Tamil Nadu State
Habitat : Deciduous forest
Key identification features : A medium size handsome evergreen tree with long drooping branches. Leaves are elliptic, dark-green and glossy on the upper surface. Flowers are tiny without petals, male and female flowers being borne on separate trees. Male flowers are yellowish-green and are crowded in dense clusters, whereas the female flowers are greenish, solitary on long stalks. Fruit is small, nearly round and olive-like. Bark grey, smooth and horizontally mottled.
Habit : Tree
Flower, Fruit : March-April; April onwards
Comments : Often on hills from 500 m onwards. Sometimes planted in plains as an avenue tree for its dense foliage and the pendulous branchlets. The name Putranjiva refers to its fertility properties.
Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
Distribution Locality : Throughout Eastern Ghats
World Distribution : India, Sri Lanka, Himalaya, Myanmar, Indo-China, Java, Moluccas, Lesser Sunda Islands, New Guinea
Literature : H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1995- Flora of Orissa Vol. 3; Matthew, K.M., The Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (2). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983.
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=Drypetes roxburghii. Downloaded on 4 April 2025.