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

Mesua ferrea

Syn. Mesua nagana

IUCN Red List Vulnerable (VU)

Local name

  • Cobra Saffron (English)
  • Nagesar (Hindi)
  • Nagkesar (Gujarati)

Tree type

Evergreen Deciduous
Family: Calophyllaceae
13m

Indicated uses

Medicinal Edible Ornamental Avenue Other

Flowering & fruiting

Flowering Fruiting

Key characters

Mesua ferrea bark

Bark

Dark grey to reddish-brown, smooth in young trees, becoming rough and flaky with age. Inner bark reddish-brown. Exudes a yellowish resin when injured.

Mesua ferrea leaves

Leaves

Simple, narrow, oblong, dark green leaves 7–15 cm long, with a whitish underside; the emerging young leaves are red to yellowish pink and drooping.

Mesua ferrea flower

Flower

The flowers are 4–7.5 cm in diameter, with four white petals and a centre of numerous yellow stamens.

Mesua ferrea fruit / seeds

Fruit / Seeds

Fruit a globose to ovoid woody capsule, 2–5 cm in diameter. Splits into 2–4 valves at maturity and contains 1–4 large brown seeds.

Mesua ferrea

Did you know?

The genus was named by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 after the 9th-century Persian physician and translator Johannes Mesue (Yuḥanna ibn Masawayh).

Distribution

World map showing distribution

Indian Subcontinent to Indo-China and Western & Central Malesia.