• Family : RUTACEAE
  (Rue Or Citrus Family)
• Family (Hindi name) : NIMBU FAMILY (नींबू फैमिली)
• Family (as per The APG System III) : RUTACEAE
• Synonym(s) : Swietenia chloroxylon Roxb.
• Species Name (as per The Plant List) : Chloroxylon swietenia DC.
• Common name : East-Indian Satin wood, Satin wood
• Vernacular name : Bhera, Bhirra, Girya, Bhivia (Hindi); Huragalu mara, Masivala mara (Kannada); Mammarai, Purush (Tamil); Billudu, Billu, Billa karra (Telugu); Bheru, Bherua (Oria); Behru, Bhirra, Billu, Girya, Halda (Marathi); Mammarai porasu, Vaaimanram (Tamil); Purushu, Varimaram (Malayalam)
• Habit : Tree
• Habitat : Deciduous forests
• Comments / notes : Common in lower deciduous forests and on hills up to 1200m. This species is used extensively for its timber and also said to be fire resistant.
• Flower, Fruit : January-October
• Distribution :
  • Andhra Pradesh : Guntur district, Chittoor district, Vishakapatnam district, Prakasam district
  • Karnataka : Ballari district
  • Kerala : Idukki district
  • Maharashtra : Ahmednagar district, Chandrapur district, Nagpur district, Nanded district, Pune district, Raigad district, Yavatmal district
  • Odisha : Ganjam district, Kalhandi district, Angul district, Puri district
  • Tamil Nadu : All dry parts of Tamil Nadu districts
• Native : India, Madagascar, Sri lanka
• World Distribution : India, Madagascar
• Conservation Status : Vulnerable (VU)
• Literature : Pullaiah et al., 2002 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 1; J.L.Ellis, 1987- Flora of Nallamalais Vol. 1; 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; IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.1. ; N.P.Singh, 1988. Flora of Eastern Karnataka; Matthew, K.M., Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983; 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=Chloroxylon swietenia. Downloaded on 3 April 2025.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Line Drawings

Field Image(s)