Putranjiva roxburghi

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Putranjivaceae
Genus:
Putranjiva Wall. Species
Putranjiva roxburgh

A moderate-sized evergreen tree with pending branche, and dark green foliage. Bark dark grey, whitish when youngs with numerous horizontal oblong lenticles. Leaves from membranous with young to coriaceous in age, shining, elliptic to narrow oblong, oblique at the base, subacute or obtuse at teh apex, often mucronate, from sharply serrulate to bluntly crenate and a little waved at the margins; blade 3-4 in. long by 1-1 1/2 broad; petiole 1/4 in. Flowers yellowish, dicecious, apetalous. MALE, numerous, sessile or sub-sessile, collected in small globular heads in the axils or on short axillary spikes. Calyx 2-5 partite. Stamens 2-3, central, free, monadelphous or diadelphous. FEMALE, solitary or 2 together in the axils of the leaves, or in simple few-flowered racemes from the year old shoots, pedicellate, greenish, larger than male. Calyx 5-parted; segments small, ciliate and hairy, more obtuse than in the male. Ovary villous, 3-celled; styles 3, short, spreading, dilated into broad fleshy stigmas. Fruit ellipsoid to obovate or globose, often more or less pointed at the apex, 6-8 in. long by 4-6 in. diam. on pedicels 1/2 - 1 in. long, hoary with a close-set white tomentum, 1 seeded with a bony endocarp.
----- Not common, only noticed in the damper parts of the Warangal forests on the banks of streams and along the Godavari, and in shady, sheltered ravines. It is a pretty evergreen tree. Wood light-grey, moderately hard, close-grained; annual rings marked by prominent concentric lines. Weighs 49 lbs. to the c.ft. It is adapted for turning, but is little used by the natives. The white nuts are strung as necklaces and amulets for children and are supposed to keep them in good health, hence the name " putranjiva." life of the child.