Dysoxylum malabaricum

Syn. Alliaria malabarica

IUCN Red List Endangered (EN)

Local name

White cedar (English)
Vella agil (Malayalam)

Tree type

Evergreen Deciduous

Family: Meliaceae

25m

Indicated uses

Medicinal Edible Ornamental Avenue Other

Flowering & fruiting

Flowering Fruiting

Key characters

Bark

Pale grey to brownish, smooth to lightly fissured, with lenticels

Leaves

Imparipinnate, 6 -10 pairs of glossy oblong-lanceolate leaflets

Flower

Small, greenish-white to cream, fragrant, in axillary panicles

Fruit / Seeds

Globose-pyriform, 3 - 5-valved capsule; seeds with fleshy aril

Did you know?

In Sidha this plant is known as agil and used as a substitute for Aquilaria malaccensis. The wood is used to cure rheumatism and the wood oil is used in treating ear and eye diseases. This species is traded locally. It is traded in the name of Vellakil.

Distribution

Endemic to the Western Ghats (Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu); wet evergreen and semi-evergreen forest