Crateva magna (Lour.) DC.

 
  • Family : CAPPARACEAE
    (Caper Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : KARIL FAMILY (करील फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Capparaceae
  • Basionym : Capparis magna Lour.
  • Synonym(s) : Capparis magna Lour.; Crateva lophosperma Kurz; Crateva nurvala Buch.-Ham.; Crateva religiosa var. nurvula (Buch.-Ham.) Hook.f. & Thomson; Triclanthera corymbosa Raf.
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Crateva magna (Lour.) DC.
  • Common name : Three-leaved Caper, Garlic Pear Tree
  • Vernacular name :
    • Varuna, Barun (Hindi)
    • Varuna, Barun (Oria)
    • Nirvaala (Kannada)
    • Maralingam (Tamil)
    • Varuna (Sanskrit)
    • Neermathalam, Neerval, Mavulangam (Malayalam)
  • Habit : Tree
  • Habitat : Tropical semi-evergreen forests, also along river banks
  • Key identification features : A medium sized tree to 10m heigh, densely foliaceous. Flowering before new leaves. Flowers white. Fruit globose, grey with powdery tomentum.
  • Flower, Fruit : March-August
  • Distribution :
    • Andhra Pradesh : Srikakulam district (Srikakulam district), Seeleru (Visakhapatnam district), East Godavari district (East Godavari district), West Godavari district (West Godavari district)
    • Kerala : All districts of Kerala
    • Maharashtra : Ahmednagar district, Mumbai Suburban district, Ratnagiri district, Sindhudurg district, Thane district
    • Odisha : Cuttack district, Puri district, Boudh district
    • Tamil Nadu : Dharmapuri district, Kancheepuram (Changalpattu-CGP) district, Coimbatore district, Dharmapuri district, Tiruvannamalai district, Vellore district, Ramanathapuram district, Villipuram district, Cuddalore district, Salem district, Tirunelveli district, Tiruchirapalli district
    • Sikkim : Sikkim
    • Arunachal Pradesh : Arunachal Pradesh
    • Meghalaya : Meghalaya
    • Assam : Assam
    • Nagaland : Nagaland
    • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
    • Mizoram : Mizoram
    • Manipur : Manipur
    • Tripura : Tripura
  • Native : Bangladesh, Bhutan, Borneo, Cambodia, China, Hainan, India, Japan, Jawa, Laos, Malaya, Myanmar, Sumatera, Thailand, Tibet, Vietnam
  • Exotic/Native : Native
  • World Distribution : Bangladesh, Bhutan, Borneo, Cambodia, China, Hainan, India, Japan, Jawa, Laos, Malaya, Myanmar, Sumatera, Thailand, Tibet, Vietnam
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • 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 et al., 1986 - Flora of West Godavari District
    • Sudhakar Reddy, C et al., 2009. Tree Wealth of Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, India
    • Matthew, K.M., Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983
    • Henry, Kumari & Chithra (1983). Flora of Tamil Nadu, India vol. 1
    • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI
    • N.P. Sing & S. Karthikeyan 2000. Flora of Maharastra vol 1. Botanical survey of India, Govt. India.
  • Read more :
  • Permalink : http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Crateva magna
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Flora Online. http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Crateva magna. Downloaded on 29 January 2026.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Field Image(s)

Habitat

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution

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