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Machilus macranthus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Large-flowered bay tree
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Magnoliids
Order: Laurales
Family: Lauraceae
Genus: Machilus
Species:
M. macranthus
Binomial name
Machilus macranthus
Synonyms[1]

Persea macrantha (Nees) Kosterm.

Machilus macranthus, the large-flowered bay tree,[2] is an evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae), native to India, Sri Lanka, the Himalayas, Myanmar, and western Yunnan in south-central China.[1]

The tree grows in the Western Ghats mountain range of India, and can reach 30 m (98 ft). Leaves are simple, alternate, spiral; lamina obovate or elliptic to elliptic-oblong; apex rounded or acuminate or acute; base acute to rounded with entire margin.[3] Flowers show terminal panicle inflorescence. Fruit is a berry which becomes blackish on ripening.[4]

The plant is known to have medicinal properties and used in Ayurveda.[5][unreliable source?]

Common names

[edit]
  • Kannada - chittu thandri, gulamaavu, gulimaavu
  • Malayalam - kulamavu, ooravu
  • Marathi - gulaamba
  • Tamil - iruli, kolamavu, kolarmavu
  • Telugu - naara

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Machilus macranthus Nees". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  2. ^ Persea macrantha - Large-Flowered Bay Tree
  3. ^ Persea macrantha (Nees) Kosterm | Species | India Biodiversity Portal
  4. ^ Persea macrantha - LAURACEAE
  5. ^ Ayurvedic Medicinal Plants Persea macrantha Archived 2015-06-26 at the Wayback Machine