Mesua ferrea L.

 
  • Family : CLUSIACEAE
    (Garcinia Or Kokam Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : KOKAM FAMILY (कोकम फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Calophyllaceae
  • Synonym(s) : Calophyllum nagassarium Burm.f.; Mesua nagana Gardner; Mesua nagassarium (Burm.f.) Kosterm.; Mesua pedunculata Wight; Mesua roxburghii Wight; Mesua salicina Planch. & Triana; Mesua sclerophylla Thwaites; Mesua speciosa Choisy; Mesua walkeriana Planch. & Triana
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Mesua ferrea L.
  • Common name : Ceylon Iron-Wood, Indian Rose chestnut, Cobra's Saffron, Inagas tree, Ironwood, Mesua, Nagas tree, Penaga Lili
  • Vernacular name :
    • Nagasampige (Kannada)
    • Naga kesaram, Uppachettu (Telugu)
    • Nagesar, Nageswar (Oria)
    • Nagakesara (Sanskrit)
    • Churuli, Eliponku, Nagachempakam, Nagakesaram, Nagapoovu, Nangakilkuru, Nangu, Peri, Seemanagapoovu, Vayanaavu, Veluthapala (Malayalam)
    • Nagchampa, Nagchapha, Thorachmpa (Marathi)
  • Habit : Tree
  • Habitat : Tropical evergreen forests, near streams
  • Comments / notes : The wood is dark reddish brown, very hard, heavy and strong. The wood is extensively used in Assam for railway sleepers
  • Key identification features : Moderate-sized or large tree, with a thin greyish-brown bark, often with white patches and peeling in flakes. Flowers large, solitary or in pairs, silvery-white with bright yellow anthers.
  • Flower, Fruit : April-November
  • Distribution :
    • Kerala : All districts of Kerala
    • Odisha : Ganjam district, Mayurbhanj district, Angul district, Keonjhar district, Cuttack district
    • Tamil Nadu : Coimbatore district, Kanyakumari district, Madurai district, The Nilgiri district, Tirunelveli district
    • Andaman and Nicobar Islands : South Andaman,Rutland and Baratang Islands
  • World Distribution : India, Andaman and Nicobar (India), Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature :
    • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1
    • H. O. Saxena and M. Brahmam, 1989 - The Flora of Similipahar (Similipal), Orissa
    • Henry, Kumari & Chithra (1983). Flora of Tamil Nadu, India vol. 1
    • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI.
    • Parkinson, C.E. 1923. A Forest Flora of the Andaman Islands, Govt. of India, Shimla
    • 88
  • Read more :
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2024). India Flora Online. http://indiafloraonline-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Mesua ferrea. Downloaded on 2 July 2024.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Line Drawings

Field Image(s)

Habitat

India Distribution

World Distribution

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