Tabernaemontana heyneana Wallich (APOCYNACEAE)
Common names
Kannada: Bilikodasalu, Kokkekai.
Malayalam: Kundalapala.
Description: Small deciduous trees, up to 8 m tall with milky latex; bark grey, rough. Leaves opposite, elliptic-oblong or lanceolate, 8-20 x 3-7 cm; acute at base, acuminate at apex, coriaceous; main nerves 12-16 pairs; petioles 0.8 – 2 cm long. Flowers in terminal or lateral corymbose cymes, white, fragrant. Calyx glabrous, lobes 5. Corolla inflated near the top, lobes 5, crispate, white. Stamens 5, inserted near the throat of the corolla-tube; filaments very short; anthers linear-oblong, free. Ovary 2-locular, style elongate, filiform; stigma 2-fid. The follicles are curved and boat-shaped, measuring 2.5 – 4 x 1-1.5 cm, and feature a short recurved beak. They exhibit a bright yellow-orange color when ripe. Each follicle contains approximately 5 seeds, measuring around 8 mm in length and surrounded by a red pulp.
Flowering & Fruiting: December – June.
Distribution: India: Evergreen forests of Western Ghats, up to 1000 m. Endemic.