Antidesma bunius (L.) Spreng.

 
  • Family : EUPHORBIACEAE
    (Spurge Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : AMLA FAMILY (आँवला फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System IV) : Phyllanthaceae
  • Basionym : Stilago bunius L.
  • Synonym(s) : Antidesma bunius var. genuinum Müll.Arg.; Antidesma stilago Forsyth f.; Sapium crassifolium Elmer; Antidesma andamanicum Hook.f.; Antidesma bunius var. cordifolium (C.Presl) Müll.Arg.
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Antidesma bunius (L.) Spreng.
  • Common name : Chinese laurel, Salamander tree
  • Vernacular name :
    • Nayi kode (Kannada)
    • Anep (Telugu)
    • Aryaporiyan, Cherutali, Mayilkombi, Neelathali, Noolithali (Malayalam)
  • Habit : Tree
  • Habitat : Tropical evergreen forests, also in sacred groves
  • Comments / notes : Fruits are edible; Bark is used for making ropes.
  • Key identification features : Small trees, 2-15 m high with dense crown; younger parts tomentose; Leaves oblong-Ianceolate, oblanceolate or oblong-elliptic, glabrous; Flowers in pubescent racemose spikes or panicles, reddish; Fruits ellipsoid, black.
  • Flower, Fruit : April-August
  • Collection Locality : Occasional in Hill forests.
  • Distribution :
    • Andhra Pradesh : Visakhapatnam district, East Godavari district
    • Karnataka : Belagavi district, Chikkamagaluru district, Dakshina Kannada district, Uttara Kannada district, Udupi district
    • Kerala : Kasaragod district, Kannur district, Wayanad district, Kozhikode district, Malappuram district, Palakkad district, Idukki district, Thiruvananthapuram district
    • Odisha : Mayurbhanj district, Ganjam district
    • Tamil Nadu : Dindigul district, The Nilgiri district, Salem district, Tirunelveli district
    • Sikkim : Sikkim
    • Arunachal Pradesh : Changlang, Lohit, Tirap
    • Meghalaya : Meghalaya
    • Assam : Assam
    • Nagaland : Nagaland
    • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
    • Mizoram : Mizoram
    • Andaman and Nicobar Islands : Andaman and Nicobar Islands
    • Manipur : Manipur
    • Tripura : Tripura
  • Native : Andaman Islands, Bangladesh, Borneo, China, Christmas Island, Bhutan, Hainan, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Islands, Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, New Guinea, Nicobar Islands, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Tibet, Vietnam
  • Exotic/Native : Native
  • World Distribution : India incl. Andaman & Nicobar, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, SE.Asia, South China, New Guinea, Java
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature :
    • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1995- Flora of Orissa Vol. 3
    • Sudhakar Reddy, C et al., 2009. Tree Wealth of Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, India
    • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI
    • Saldanha, C.J. (1996). Flora of Karnataka vol. 2. Oxford and IBH Publishing Co, New Delhi.
    • G.S Giri., A.Pramanik., H.J. Chowdhery., G.D Pal and S.K. Das (2008). Materials for Arunachal Pradesh, Vol (2), Pg: 361-362
    • K.Ravikumar, A.C.Tangavelou, & Navendu Page. (2021). Seed plants of Karnataka, India: A concise dictionary. FRLHT-TDU, National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), Chennai.
    • K. Karthigeyan, R. P. Pandey, & A. a. Mao (Eds.). (2023). Flora of Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Vol. 2). Director, Botanical Survey of India.
  • Read more :
  • Permalink : https://indiatrees-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Antidesma bunius
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Trees and Vegetation Types. Antidesma bunius. 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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