Mast Tree / Debdaru / Asok

Polyalthia longifolia

A familiar tall erect evergreen tree with long narrow shiny undulating dark green leaves. Grown for its thin erect shape and beautiful leaves. One variety (elonga) has more narrow conical form.

Leaf: Simple. Long, narrow, wavy-edged, widest near base, slowly tapering to a pointed tip

Flower: Not prominent. In clusters with pale green petals  

Fruit: In clusters growing from a common stalk, grape sized, deep purple when ripe

Season: Never leafless, but new leaves emerge in Feb & Mar. Flowers in Mar and Apr. Fruits ripe in Jul and Aug

Range/habitat: Drier parts of Sri Lanka and a few pockets in south India. Cultivated throughout India and in South East Asia   

Trivia and notes:

a) The Hindi name Ashok is used for two different trees. To disambiguate, the other one is called Sita Asok (Saraca asoka)

b) Apart from the regular (with somewhat spreading canopy) there are at least two other varieties of this tree. The commoner one is call pendula variety where the branch and short and drooping giving a mast-like shape. The other, far rare variety is the dwarf variety where the leaves are smaller and also the tree is slightly shorter than the regular variety.

Where to Find: The regular and the pendula variety is quite common. There is at least Dwarf variety mast tree in Victoria Memorial park