India Laurel / Soft Bollygum

Litsea glutinosa

Beng: Kukur Chita; Hindi: maida / maida lakr

A small to mid-sized aromatic evergreen tree with a thick brown bark and oval leaves with shiny above and silvery below. Male and female flowers in separate trees (dioicous)

Bark: Thick, Brown.

Leaf: Very variable but usually oval 5-10’’ long with 1-2’’ stalks. Pale & hairy underside, shiny above. Highly aromatic

Flower: Minute, in heads of 4-6 flowers combined. Yellow or white, 2’’ when fully open. Male and female flowers in separate trees

Fruit: A spherical berry ½’’ diameter. Black when ripe

Season: New leaves emerge in Apr, flowers in May-Sep in periodic flushes

Range/habitat: Many parts of India, also Sri Lanka, Malaysia, south China & northern Australia

Trivia and notes: Though as per Benthall (1946) – “It is common in thickets and village shrubberies in lower Bengal”. Nowadays it is an uncommon tree in Kolkata.

Where to Find: One female tree in Safari Park (towards rose garden from Rabbit enclosure 22.51288, 88.35919). One small male tree inside Safari Park in the “IPF habitat” zone.

One inside Victoria Memorial Compound GPS 22.54636,88.34504