Memecylon edule Roxb.

 
  • Family : MELASTOMATACEAE
    (Melastoma Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : ANJAN FAMILY (अंजन फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System IV) : Melastomataceae
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Memecylon edule Roxb.
  • Common name : Iron-wood tree
  • Vernacular name :
    • Anjan, Anjuni, Lokhandi, Aalimara (Kannada)
    • Alli (Telugu)
  • Habit : Tree
  • Comments / notes : Occasional on hills above 1000m. Fruits are edible, staining tongue violet. Wood is very hard and used in agricultural implements.
  • Flower, Fruit : April-July
  • Distribution :
    • Andhra Pradesh : Kurnool district, Visakhapatnam district, East Godavari district, Y.S.R. Kadapa district
    • Karnataka : Uttara Kannada district
    • Odisha : Ganjam district, Mayurbhanj district
    • Tamil Nadu : Dharmapuri district, Salem district, Tiruchirapalli district
    • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
    • Andaman and Nicobar Islands : Way to Chengappa Bay in Great Nicobar Island
  • Native : Bangladesh, Borneo, Cambodia, India, Laos, Malaya, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam
  • Exotic/Native : Native
  • World Distribution : Bangladesh, Borneo, Cambodia, India, Laos, Malaya, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature :
    • Pullaiah et al., 2007 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 3
    • Matthew, K.M., Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983.
    • B. K. Sinha. (1999). Flora of Great Nicobar Island (P. K. Hajra & P. S. N. Rao, Eds.). Botanical Survey of India.
  • Read more :
  • Permalink : https://indiatrees-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Memecylon edule
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Trees and Vegetation Types. Memecylon edule. Downloaded on 3 October 2026.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Field Image(s)

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution

GBIF Distribution

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