Filicium decipiens Thw.

 
  • Family : SAPINDACEAE
    (Soapberry Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : REETHA FAMILY (रीठा फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System IV) : Sapindaceae
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Filicium decipiens (Wight & Arn.) Thwaites
  • Common name : Fern leaf Tree
  • Vernacular name :
    • Kattupuvarasu, Ningal, Athadali, Eruvillipaalai (Tamil)
    • Irumbarakki, Neeroli, Valmuriccha, Muriccha, Sanimaram (Malayalam)
  • Habit : Tree
  • Habitat : Tropical evergreen forests, Tropical semi-evergreen forests, also often planted in gardens.
  • Comments / notes : Occasional in moist ravines and shaded floors of sholas.
  • Key identification features : Handsome tree with beautiful fern-like leaves
  • Flower, Fruit : October-April
  • Distribution :
    • Andhra Pradesh : Chittoor district, Srikakulam district
    • Karnataka : Common
    • Kerala : Kannur district, Wayanad district, Palakkad district, Thrissur district, Idukki district, Kollam district
    • Maharashtra : Mumbai Suburban district, Mumbai-City district, Aurangabad district, Jalna district, Parbhani district, Hingoli district, Beed district, Nanded district, Osmanabad district, Latur district, Thane district, Pune district
    • Odisha : Cuttack district
    • Tamil Nadu : Namakkal district, Vellore district, Dindigul district, Kancheepuram (Changalpattu-CGP) district, Coimbatore district, The Nilgiri district, Tiruchirapalli district, Tirunelveli district, Dharmapuri district, Salem district, Villipuram district, Cuddalore district, Chennai district, Theni district
    • Delhi : Delhi
  • Native : Comoros, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Zimbabwe
  • Exotic/Native : Native
  • World Distribution : Comoros, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Zimbabwe
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature :
    • Pullaiah et al., 2002 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 1
    • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1
    • R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District
    • Matthew, K.M., Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983
    • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI
    • Henry, Kumari & Chithra (1983). Flora of Tamil Nadu, India vol. 1.
    • K.Ravikumar, A.C.Tangavelou, & Navendu Page. (2021). Seed plants of Karnataka, India: A concise dictionary. FRLHT-TDU, National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), Chennai.
  • Read more :
  • Permalink : https://indiatrees-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Filicium decipiens
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Trees and Vegetation Types. Filicium decipiens. Downloaded on 3 October 2026.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Field Image(s)

Habitat

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution

GBIF Distribution

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India Trees and Vegetation Types by Herbarium JCB is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.