Putranjiva

Putranjiva

Drypetes roxburghii Syn: Putranjiva roxburghii

Bengali/Hindi: jiyaputa / putranjib

An evergreen tree with attentive drooping branches with dark green wavy-margined glossy leaves (resemble mast tree (debdaru) to some extent)

Leaf: Simple, glossy, dark green, wavy-edged, margin very finely toothed

Bark: Grey to yellowish, not very rough, with white specs

Flower: Not prominent. Male and female flowers in different tree

Fruit: Small roundish drupe white or green, contains one hard stone

Season: The flowers appear from March to May, and the fruit takes about 12 months to ripen

Range/habitat: Mostly moist evergreen forests of Indian subcontinent, mainly submontane tract of Himalaya and southern peninsula. Common but not gregarious on abundant. Outside India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, parts of Malay peninsula and Indochina

Trivia and notes: the stones are considered protector of children and the nuts are strung together into amulets, and are frequently worn by Hindu fakirs, Brahmans, and particularly by children to ward off “evil eyes”. Hence the common English name.

Though common in city streets, few people know its name. Perhaps it gets overlooks as mast tree/ debdaru / asok. Putranjiva leaves are at most 3’’ long

Where to Find: Very common in Rabindra sarobar. While entering from Bengal rowing Club gate, a few full-grown tree are there on the right hand side of the road