Salacia chinensis

Lolly berry or Saptarangi

• Also called Lolly berry, Chinese salacia, Holly-leaved berried spindle tree
• Hindi Saptarangi (सप्तरंगी)
• Sanskrit Saptachakra (सप्तचक्र), Ekanayaka (एकनायक)
• Tamil Karukkuvai (கருக்குவை), Cuntan / Sundan (சுண்டன்)
• Malayalam Ekanayakam (ഏകനായകം)
• Kannada Ekanayaka (ಏಕನಾಯಕ)
• Telugu Neraani (నేరాణి)

Evergreen climbing shrub

What it is

Salacia chinensis is an evergreen woody climber, sometimes a scrambling shrub, of the spindle-tree family. Its slightly leathery leaves grow in opposite pairs. Small yellow-green flowers sit in clusters where the leaves join the stem, followed by round red or orange berries about 1.5 cm across, each usually with one seed. It grows wild from India and Sri Lanka through South-East Asia to New Guinea.

What it's used for

• The ripe berries have a little edible pulp, which is where the name lolly berry comes from.
• In Ayurvedic tradition the plant is known as saptarangi, saptachakra or ekanayaka, and its roots are used in traditional preparations.
• Insects pollinate the flowers, and animals eat the fruit and spread the seeds.

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. Salacia chinensis is one of the species planted there.

Read more about Salacia chinensis on nparks.gov.sg