| Type | Indigenous |
|---|---|
| Family | Loganiaceae |
| Local Name | Thettamparel |
| Local Name 2 | Chillam |
| Habit | Small sized tree |
| Tree Seed | Fruit type: Berry. Seed weight: 1,660 seeds/kg. Vernacular name: Nirmali (Hindi), Tettran (Bose et al., 1998), Tettancottia (Tamil), Tettamaram, Thettanparil kanjiram (Malayalam). Flowering season: February to March. February to April (Bourdillon, 1908; Bose et al., 1998). Fruiting season: November to March (Bourdillon, 1908). Fruits remain on the tree for several months (Bose et al., 1998). Method of propagation: By seeds |
| Botanical Features | Trees, bark 10-12 mm thick, brownish-black, rough, corky with deep and narrow vertical cracks; blaze creamy yellow. Leaves simple, opposite, estipulate; petiole 2-8 mm, glabrous; lamina 5-15 x 3.5-7.5 cm, elliptic, ovate, elliptic-ovate, base obtuse or round, apex acute, margin entire, glabrous, shiny, chartaceous; nerves 3-5 from the base, lateral nerves from the midrib 4 pairs, glabrous; flowers white, 0.85 cm long, in short axillary cymes, fruit a berry, 16-18 mm across, globose, black, pericarp hard; seeds 1-2, 10-12 mm across, turgid, round, yellowish. |