• Family : CAESALPINIACEAE
  (Pea Or Bean Family)
• Family (Hindi name) : IMLI FAMILY (ईमली फैमिली)
• Family (as per The APG System III) : LEGUMINOSAE
• Subfamily : Caesalpinioideae
• Basionym : Jonesia asoca Roxb.
• Synonym(s) : Saraca indica "sensu Bedd., non L."
• Species Name (as per The Plant List) : Saraca asoca (Roxb.) Willd.
• Common name : Asoka tree, True Asoka, Sita Asoka, Sesbania Pea, Canicha, Prickly Sesban
• Vernacular name : Ashoka, Ashok (Hindi); Ashokada mara, Kengali mara (Kannada); Asoka, Asavu (Tamil); Kankeli, Asokamu, Asokam, Vanjulumu (Telugu); Oshoko, Ashok (Oria); Ashoka (Sanskrit); Shokam, Hemapushpam, Vanjuulam (Malayalam)
• Habit : Tree
• Habitat : Evergreen forests, also grown as ornamental tree
• Key identification features : A smal tree with bright orange scarlet flowers
• Flower, Fruit : March-October
• Distribution :
  • Andhra Pradesh : Chittoor district, Kadapa district, Vishakapatnam district, Srikakulam district, West Godavari district, East Godavari district
  • Kerala : All districts of Kerala
  • Odisha : Keonjhar district, Mayurbhanj district, Angul district, Dhenkanal district, Puri district
  • Tamil Nadu : Planted
• Native : India, Sri Lanka
• World Distribution : India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh. Introduced in cultivation in Malaysia
• Conservation Status : Vulnerable (VU)
• Literature : Pullaiah et al., 2001 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 2; H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1; R. S. Rao et al., 1986 - Flora of West Godavari District; R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District; H. O. Saxena and M. Brahmam, 1989 - The Flora of Similipahar (Similipal), Orissa; IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.1. ; Sudhakar Reddy, C et al., 2009. Tree Wealth of Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, India; Prakasa Rao, J et al (2015). Tree additions to the flora of East Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh, India. JoTT. 7 (12):7953-7957; NOORUNNISA BEGUM, S., K. RAVIKUMAR, D. K. VEDCURRENT (2014). Cur. Sci. 107, 26 (1) pp 26-28; Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI; Henry, Kumari & Chithra (1983). Flora of Tamil Nadu, India vol. 1.
• Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Raja K Swamy, Deepak Kumar, Arun Singh R. and K. Gopalakrishna Bhat (2019). Flora of Peninsular India. http://peninsula.ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Saraca asoca. Downloaded on 2 April 2025.

Botanical Description

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Field Image(s)