Common name: Warty marble tree. Tamil name: Malampinnai, Rudraksham
Warty marble tree belongs to the Indo-Malayan region it grows to over 40 meters in height. However, most of the trees i have seen in Nilgiris look much smaller. The is rather uncommon in Wester ghats area. I have seen a few of these trees inside tea estates. The preferred habitat of this tree is steam-sides, along evergreen and shola forest areas. The bark of this tree is rather smooth and light grey in appearance. The leafs are simple and arranged in an alternate spiral manner. The leaf are seen clustered around branch tips. They measure around 18-22 cm in length. The inflorescence is in the form of an axillary raceme. The flower petals are lacerated and thread like. They have many stamens and generally droop down. The flowers are white and attractive. The fruit is in the form of a drupe which is elliptical and encloses a single seed which is tuberculate.
