| Type | Indigenous |
|---|---|
| Family | Sapindaceae |
| Synonym | Pistachia oleosa Lour. |
| Synonym_2 | Schleichera trijuga Willd. |
| Local Name | Dhoothalam |
| Local Name 2 | Poovanam |
| Trade Name | Kusum |
| Habit | Medium to large sized tree |
| Tree Seed | Fruit type: Drupe. Seed weight: 1,517 (Sen Gupta,1937) to 2,200 seeds/kg (FRI,1981; Kumar and Bhanja, 1992; Luna, 1996; Chacko et al., 2002). Vernacular name: Dhoothalam, Poovanam (Sasidharan, 2004), Poovam, Kusam (Malayalam), Pumaratha, Puvattipuvam, Puvam (Tamil), Kosum, Gosum (Hindi) (Chacko et al., 2002). Flowering season: March - April. February to March (Bose et al., 1998) Fruiting season: Ripens in June - July (Bose et al., 1998); August to November (FRI, 1981; Chacko et al., 2002). Germination type: Epigeous (Kumar and Bhanja, 1992; Chacko et al.,2002). Germination percentage: 6 to 58 (Sen Gupta, 1937); 50 to 80 (FRI, 1998; Luna, 1996; Chacko et al., 2002). Method of propagation: By seeds and root suckers; stump planting is also practised (Ram Parkash et al., 1998). |
| Botanical Features | Deciduous trees, bole fluted; bark surface grey, smooth, brittle; blaze reddish-brown. Leaves paripinnate, alternate, exstipulate; rachis 5.5-11.5 cm, stout, glabrous, swollen at base; leaflets 4-6, opposite or subopposite; petiolule upto 3 mm, slender, glabrous; lamina 5-15 x 1.8-4.5 cm, elliptic-oblong, ovate or obovate, base oblique or rarely obtuse, apex acute or obtuse, margin entire, coriaceous, glabrous; lateral nerves 10-23, parallel, prominent, flowers greenish-yellow, in axillary spicate panicles; fruit a drupe, seed 1 or 2, enclosed in a pulpy aril which has a pleasant acid taste; testa smooth, brown. |
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