Simarouba amara Aubl.

 
  • Family : SIMAROUBACEAE
    (Quassia Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : HINGOT FAMILY (हिंगोट फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System IV) : Simaroubaceae
  • Synonym(s) : Quassia simaruba L.f.; Pistacia americana Mill.; Quassia alatifolia Stokes; Quassia dioica P.J.Bergius; Quassia simarouba W.Wright; Simarouba amara var. opaca Engl.; Simarouba amara var. puberula Cuatrec.; Simarouba opaca (Engl.) Radlk. ex F.Boas.
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Simarouba amara Aubl.
  • Common name : Baptist paradise tree
  • Habit : Tree
  • Habitat : Cultivated
  • Key identification features : Large trees, 5–35 m tall. Branchlets reddish and glabrate; Leaves compund, even or odd pinnate, about 60cm long, petiole 4-7cm long, reddish, minutely puberulent along the upper groove, leaflets range from 6-16, alternately or suboppositely arranged, oblong to narrowly obovate or elliptic, apex rounded, abruptly short-acuminate to occasionally retuse, base cuneate, inequilateral, margin entire, slightly notched, texture thick, coriaceous, surfaces dark green and lustrous above, paler, duller beneath; Inflorescence staminate panicles terminal, widely branched, densely flowered, reddish, and minutely puberulent, up to 30 cm long, carpellate panicles are similar but bear fewer flowers; Staminate flowers campanulate, greenish or yellowish, with deciduous spathulate bracts, pedicels are 2 mm long, minutely puberulent, calyx bowl-shaped, 5-lobed, ca. 1 mm tall, lobes broadly triangular and ciliate, petals 5, ovate, upright with slightly spreading apices at anthesis, 4–5 mm long, up to 3 mm wide, stamens 10 in 2 whorls, about 4 mm long; outer whorl slightly shorter, filaments ubulate with densely tomentose appendages that form a cohesive disc around the filaments, disc 5-lobed, about 1mm tall, gynoecium rudimentary; Carpellate flowers similar to staminate but longer pedicels of about 5mm, petals 3–3.5 mm long, stamens reduced to 10 obovoid, beaked, pubescent staminodia 1 mm high, disc 10-lobed, less than 1mm tall, pubescent to glabrate, ovary obovoid, deeply 5-lobed, glabrous, 2mm tall, style about 1mm long, deciduous, stigma 5, recurved, about 1mm long; Fruit drupe, 1–3 per flower, obovoid or ellipsoid, slightly laterally compressed, distinctly contracted at the base, bear a medial ridge and prominent subapical stylar scar, surface glabrous, brownish-punctate, green or reddish to blue-black upon maturity, about 1.5cm long.
  • Flower, Fruit : January-May
  • Distribution :
    • Kerala : Kerala
    • Odisha : Odisha
    • Tamil Nadu : Cuddalore district, Villipuram district
  • Native : Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Leeward Islands, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panamá, Peru, Southwest Caribbean, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela, Windward Islands
  • Exotic/Native : Exotic
  • World Distribution : Mexico to Tropical America
  • Literature :
    • Narasimhan, D. & Irwin, Sheeba. (2021). Flowering Plants of Tamil Nadu: A Compendium.
  • Read more :
  • Permalink : https://indiatrees-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Simarouba amara
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Trees and Vegetation Types. Simarouba amara. Downloaded on 3 October 2026.

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution

GBIF Distribution
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