Statue of Unity – Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat Rain Forest Ektanagar

Elaeocarpus sphaericus

Syn. Elaeocarpus ganitrus

IUCN Red List Not Evaluated (NE)

Local name

  • Utrasum-Bead Tree (English)
  • Rudraksha (Marathi)
  • Rudraksham (Malayalam)

Tree type

Evergreen Deciduous
Family: Elaeocarpaceae
15m

Indicated uses

Medicinal Edible Ornamental Avenue Other

Flowering & fruiting

Flowering Fruiting

Key characters

Elaeocarpus sphaericus bark

Bark

Greyish-white to grey, rough, with small vertical lenticels and narrow horizontal furrows.

Elaeocarpus sphaericus leaves

Leaves

Simple, alternate, glossy green above and dull, leathery beneath, oblong-lanceolate, 10–15 × 2–5 cm, with acuminate apices, serrulate margins and red senescent leaves.

Elaeocarpus sphaericus flower

Flower

Fragrant, white flowers, often purplish in bud, borne in axillary, pendulous racemes, frequently from the axils of older leaves.

Elaeocarpus sphaericus fruit / seeds

Fruit / Seeds

Globose to ovoid bluish/purple fruit containing a hard, deeply sculptured seed/endocarp known as the Rudraksha bead.

Elaeocarpus sphaericus

Did you know?

The name Rudraksha combines Sanskrit Rudra (Lord Shiva) and aksha (eye or tear), linking the seeds with Shiva’s sacred tears. Ripe fruits exhibit metallic cobalt-blue colour through structural coloration, produced by microscopic iridosomes rather than pigments.

Distribution

World map showing distribution

Himalaya to N. Myanmar