Aglaia elaeagnoidea

Chokkalai or Droopy leaf

• Also called Droopy leaf, Indian boodyarra
• Tamil Chokkalai / Cokkalai (சொக்கலை)
• Hindi Priyangu (प्रियंगु)
• Telugu Erranduga (ఎర్రఅందుగ)
• Kannada Kempunola (ಕೆಂಪುನೊಳ)
• Malayalam Chembuli (ചെമ്പുളി)

Evergreen shrub or tree, up to 15 m

What it is

Aglaia elaeagnoidea is an evergreen tree of the mahogany family, sometimes only a shrub. Its leaves are split into three to five leaflets that tend to droop, dotted underneath with tiny silvery or rusty scales. Small yellow flowers grow in loose sprays, followed by round brown or reddish berries with seeds wrapped in sweet white flesh. It ranges from India and Sri Lanka through South-East Asia to northern Australia.

What it's used for

• The sweet white flesh around the seeds is eaten.
• Its hard, reddish wood is used locally for building houses.
• In India and Nepal the fruits are used in traditional medicine for fevers and inflammation.

Where we plant it

Our partners plant the mix of native species that suits each site and season, so a gift plants trees in the project rather than this one species. Aglaia elaeagnoidea is one of the species planted there.

Read more about Aglaia elaeagnoidea on tropical.theferns.info