Indian medlar / (asian) bulletwood

Mimusops elengi

Bengali: bakul Hindi: maulsari

Bark: Rough, dark grey deeply fissure or cracked when old

Leaf: 2-6’’ glossy with wavy margin on short stalk

Flower: ½’’ across, highly scented, dull white, with numerous narrow stiff petals that gives it a star / sun like look

Fruit: A small berry green when unripe, orange when ripe, contains one seed

Season: Never leafless, new leaves in Feb, Flower from March till July. Fruiting happens soon after flowering and

Range/habitat: Native to western & eastern ghats, cultivated all over India over millennia. It tolerates shade very well.

Trivia and notes: This tree is like a dream tree for urban arborists. Its foliage looks beautifully glossy and wavy, the crown is tends to be perfectly dome-shaped, tolerates shade well and like icing the cake it produces beautifully fragrant flowers for more than four months!

Where to find: Compared to other large parks, Rabindra Sarobar has a smaller number of bakul trees. One mature tree is in the north-west section of the lake., between the main road and the lake close the gnarled Arjun tree.  22.51179, 88.35918