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

Xantolis tomentosa

Syn. Sideroxylon tomentosum

IUCN Red List Least Concern (LC)

Local name

  • Indian Bully Tree (English)
  • Kanta Bohul (Hindi)
  • Kumbal (Marathi)

Tree type

Evergreen Deciduous
Family: Sapotaceae
05m

Indicated uses

Medicinal Edible Ornamental Avenue Other

Flowering & fruiting

Flowering Fruiting

Key characters

Xantolis tomentosa bark

Bark

Greyish-brown, generally smooth to slightly rough with age; inner bark may exude latex.

Xantolis tomentosa leaves

Leaves

Simple, alternate, exstipulate, leathery, elliptic to obovate, 4–8 × 1.5–3.5 cm, with slender, hairy petioles, entire margins, 10–12 vein pairs and woolly undersides when young, becoming glabrous at maturity.

Xantolis tomentosa flower

Flower

Bisexual, white or yellowish white, 10 mm long, fragrant, fascicled at leafless nodes. Flowers are somewhat like those of Mahua.

Xantolis tomentosa fruit / seeds

Fruit / Seeds

A small, ovoid, green to yellowish berry measuring roughly 2.5 × 1.5 cm, which is edible. Each berry yields one to two ellipsoid, shining, dark brown seeds that lack a winged margin.

Xantolis tomentosa

Did you know?

This understory tree faces browsing pressure from large herbivores; rigid spines along its trunk and older branches provide effective protection against herbivory.

Distribution

World map showing distribution

India, Sri Lanka, Indo-China