• Family : EUPHORBIACEAE
  (Spurge Family)
• Family (Hindi name) : AMLA FAMILY (आँवला फैमिली)
• Family (as per The APG System IV) : Phyllanthaceae
• Synonym(s) : Cicca emblica (L.) Kurz; Diasperus emblica (L.) Kuntze; Emblica officinalis Gaertn.; Cicca macrocarpa Kurz; Diasperus pomifer (Hook.f.) Kuntze; Dichelactina nodicaulis Hance; Emblica arborea Raf.; Phyllanthus glomeratus Roxb. ex Benth.; Phyllanthus mairei H.Lév.; Phyllanthus mimosifolius Salisb.; Phyllanthus pomifer Hook.f.; Phyllanthus taxifolius D.Don
• Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Phyllanthus emblica L.
• Common name : Indian Gooseberry, Emblic Myrobalan
• Vernacular name :
  • Amlika, Aonla (Hindi)
  • Bettada nelli kaayi (Kannada)
  • Nelli (Tamil)
  • Aamlaki (Sanskrit)
  • Amla (Marathi)
  • Amla, Anula (Oria)
  • Amalakamu, Pedda Usirikaya (Telugu)
  • Amalakam, Nelli (Malayalam)
• Habit : Tree
• Comments / notes : On hills above 800m, on exposed slopes; Also cultivated for its edible berry rich in Vitamin C; Fruits are edible and are often preserved with salt or sugar; Bark and fruits are used in tanning; The fermented liquor from fruits is said to be used in cough, dyspepsia and jaundice.
• Flower, Fruit : July-May
• Collector(s) Name : Cecil J. Saldanha; Raja K. Swamy
• Collection Date : 13-03-1970, 09-02-2019
• Collection Nos : CJS 16580, HJCB 2141
• Collection Locality : Devarunde-Malgod road, Hassan district; Chamara peak, Kerala
• Distribution :
  • Andhra Pradesh : Srikakulam district, Visakhapatnam district, Vizianagaram district, East Godavari district, West Godavari district, Krishna district, Guntur district, Prakasam district, Kurnool district, S.P.S. Nellore district, Y.S.R. Kadapa district, Anantapur district, Chittoor district
  • Telangana : Khammam district, Nalgonda district, Mahbubnagar district
  • Karnataka : All districts of Karnataka
  • Kerala : All districts of Kerala
  • Maharashtra : Akola district
  • Tamil Nadu : Alagar Hills (Madurai district), Kolli Hills (Namakkal district), Shevaroy Hills (Salem district), Kalrayan Hills (Salem district), Pachamalai Hills (Tiruchirapalli district), Bodamalai Hills (Salem district), Chitteri Hills (Vellore district), Sirumalai Hills (Dindigul district), Yelagiri Hills (Vellore district), Dharmapuri Hills (Dharmapuri district), Piranmalai Hills (Sivaganga district), Theerthamalai Hills (Dharmapuri district), Gingee Hill (Villipuram district), Javadu Hills (Tiruvannamalai district)
  • Jharkhand :
  • Madhya Pradesh : Hoshangabad district
  • Uttarakhand : Uttarakhand
  • Sikkim : Sikkim
  • Himachal Pradesh : Himachal Pradesh
  • Arunachal Pradesh : Kameng, Siang, Subansiri
  • Meghalaya : Meghalaya
  • Assam : Assam
  • Nagaland : Nagaland
  • Delhi : Delhi
  • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
  • Punjab : Punjab
  • Jammu and Kashmir : Jammu and Kashmir
  • Mizoram : Mizoram
  • Andaman and Nicobar Islands : South Andaman
  • Manipur : Manipur
  • Tripura : Tripura
• Native : Bangladesh, Bhutan, Borneo, Cambodia, China, Hainan, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Islands, Malaya, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Sumatera, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam
• Exotic/Native : Native
• World Distribution : Bangladesh, Bhutan, Borneo, Cambodia, China, Hainan, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Islands, Malaya, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Sumatera, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam
• Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
• Literature :
  • J.L.Ellis, 1990- Flora of Nallamalais Vol. 2
  • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1995- Flora of Orissa Vol. 3
  • R. S. Rao et al., 1986 - Flora of West Godavari District
  • R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District
  • H. O. Saxena and M. Brahmam, 1989 - The Flora of Similipahar (Similipal), Orissa
  • Matthew, K.M., The Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (2). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983
  • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI.
  • G.S Giri., A.Pramanik., H.J. Chowdhery., G.D Pal and S.K. Das (2008). Materials for Arunachal Pradesh, Vol (2), Pg: 380
  • Indigenous Plants at Biodiversity Park, Ranchi - Ranchi Afforestation Division, Forest and Environmental Department, Jharkhand
  • K.Ravikumar, A.C.Tangavelou, & Navendu Page. (2021). Seed plants of Karnataka, India: A concise dictionary. FRLHT-TDU, National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), Chennai.
  • Parkinson, C.E. 1923. A Forest Flora of the Andaman Islands, Govt. of India, Shimla
  • 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 :
  • GBIF Data Online (Access to herbarium specimens)
  • Plants of the World Online
  • World Flora Online
  • Global Plants on JSTOR
• Permalink : https://indiatrees-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Phyllanthus emblica
• Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Trees and Vegetation Types. Phyllanthus emblica. Downloaded on 4 October 2026.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Line Drawings

Field Image(s)

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution

GBIF Distribution