Flora of Bangladesh

Shet-chondon or Sandalwood (S antalum album , family: Santalaceae) is a medium-sized evergreen tree with upright branches. Bark is dark grey and rough. It is a slow-growing tree. Its trunk increases by 15-20 cm across in 30-40 years! It is considered as a sacred plant. Its timber is aromatic. Brownish heartwood is strongly scented. Sapwood is white. Indian subcontinent is the original home of the precious plant. Leaves usually opposite, simple, coriaceous, elliptic, 5-7 cm long, almost acute at the end. Inflorescence is usually cymose panicle on the axils of leaves at the end of the branches. Flowers are very small, whitish or purplish. Flowering occurs from June-October. Fruit is a drupe, fleshy, round, violet in color. Seed globose. Propagation is caused by seeds. Essential oil is obtained from the wood and roots. A kind of viscid oil is also obtained from its seeds too. It is analgesic, diuretic, deodorant and depurative. It is an antidote to...

Gewa or Blind your eye mangrove ( Excoecaria agallocha , family: Euphobiaceae) is a large coastal shrub or small tree attaining a height of 3-10 m. Bark is grey and rough. The plant is abundantly found near the sea shore of Chattogram, Cox'sbazar and in the Sundar bans.  It is native to South Asia and Australia.  Broken branches and leaves emit white latex which is very dangerous to human skin as well as eyes.  Other names: Genga, Gew. Leaves are bright green, alternate, glabrous, petioled, elliptical, lateral nerves unclear, 5-10 cm long and 4-5 cm wide. petiole is 2-3 cm long.  Flowers are yellowish, small, scented, borne on raceme. Male and female flowers bloom on separate trees. Female flowers appear on shorter inflorescence. Flowers bloom in rainy season.  Fruit is globose, smooth, 3-lobbed, dehiscent. The propagation of the plant is caused by seeds. Its timber is light and spongy. It is used as the raw material of paper and ...

Rubber bot or Indian rubber ( Ficus elastica , family: Moraceae) is a medium or large evergreen tree with aerial prop roots grow from its branches. The fig tree with milky latex in its leaves and shoots can get a height of more than 30 meters. The trunk is smooth, black-colored and has very tiny whitish spots. This tree is well-known as an ornamental plant. In Bangladesh, it is found on roadside area or the edge of forest and in parks and gardens. The beautiful tree is native to South and Southeast Asia. Leaves are spectacular, simple, big, leathery, deep green, sometimes deep purplish, shiny and smooth, elliptic-ovate, 12-30 cm long and 5-12 cm wide, petioled, alternate, acuminate at the top. Florets remain inside the fruit or fig which cannot be seen from outside. Fruiting occurs in the late spring. Fruits develop in the nodes of  the Fruits. They usually round, sometimes slender in shape. Mature fruits are yellow or red in color. The plant is propagate...

Buddho narikel or Buddha coconut ( Pterygota alata , family: Sterculiaceae) is a large erect tree with branches, reaching up to 50 m in height. Trunk is huge and stout. Bark is smooth and  grey in color.  The deciduous mighty tree is found in the hilly forests of Chittagong and Chittagong Hill Tracts and Sylhet of Bangladesh.  The tree is also found in South India, Sikkim and Andaman Islands. In Bangladesh it is planted in parks and botanical gardens as an ornamental plant.  Leaves are dark green, big, cordate, glabrous, 10-25 cm long and 7-20 cm wide, alternate; long-petioled: 10-14 cm long. Midrib and veins are clearly visible. Flowers are reddish inside, outside brownish yellow, scented, petals 5. It produces flowers in spring. Fruit is big, round, hard, dehiscent, dark brown in color. Seeds are winged, numerous. Fruit pulp tastes almost like Coconut.   The native plant is propagated by seeds. Seed is edible too. It...

Korpur or Camphor ( Cinnamomum camphora, family: ‎Lauraceae) is an evergreen small or medium-sized aromatic tree from cinnamomum family, up to 10 to 15 m high with profuse branches. Trunk is short. Its bark is blackish and rough. Camphor, which is volatile and has a strong aroma, extracted from its bark and wood.  Its original home is China, Japan and Malay. In Bangladesh it is found in Sylhet area. As an ornamental tree, it is also found in the parks and botanical gardens in the country.  Leaves are small, elliptic-ovate, entire, veins and midrib are very clear; glabrous, alternate, bearing scent of camphor. Flowers are brownish white, borne on axillary inflorescence. Female flowers are the bigger than males. Petals 6, arranged in two rows.  Flower buds with the young shoots are derived from a kind of mound, which is unusual to floral kingdom. Flower blooms in February-March. Fruit is a berry. The plant is propagated by seeds and ...

Jongli badam or Bastard poon tree ( Sterculia foetida , family: Sterculuaceae) is a large deciduous tree, up to 20 m in height, with branches arranged in whorls and spreading horizontally. Trunk is robust and straight. There are eye-like glands on the grey-colored bark. The tree has some resembles with Shimul .                                                                                                                    The children are in the womb! Leaves are digitately compound, leaflets 5-8, crowded at the end of branches, elliptic-lanceolate, tip elongated, acuminate, 10-18 cm long and 4-5 cm wide, petiole is very long, about 20 cm, though the length of leaflets are very short, alm...

Ritha or  Soapberry  ( Sapindus saponaria , family: Sapindaceae) is a a medium-sized much branching tree attaining a height of 15 m. Its bark is dark with rough scales. The deciduous tree is originated from tropical America. Nowadays it has been naturalized in Bangladesh as well as tropical areas of Asia. The good looking tree is found in the North-West region of the country. Leaves are green, 2-6 pairs per pinnae, 40 cm long, terminal leaf absent. Leaflets almost opposite or alternate, elliptic-lanceolate, 5-15 cm long and 3-6 cm wide, petioled, apex emarginate. After leaving all the leaves in the winter, new leaves arrives in the beginning of spring. Flowering occurs in the summer. Inflorescence up to 25 cm long. Flowers creamy white, tomentose. Petals 5. Fruit is drupe, solitary or pair, fleshy, subglobose, 1 cm in diameter, glabrous. Fruiting occurs in rainy season. The propagation of the plant is caused by seeds. Fibers on inner bark are u...

Kamela or Monkey-face tree ( Mallotus philippensis, family: Euphorbiaceae) is a small-sized tree, usually 8-12 m in height. The bark of the evergreen tree is grey, smooth and wrinkled. Young shoot, leaves and inflorescence are covered with rust-colored hair. The tree is found everywhere in Bangladesh. It is also found in South and Southeast Asia. Other names: Shinduri, Kamala, Kapila, Komolaguli.  Leaves are simple, green, alternate, petioled, ovate-lanceolate, edge slightly undulated, acuminate at the apex, 8-20 cm long and 3-6 cm wide. The lower side of the leaves contain many glands. Petiole is 1-8 cm long and has a pair of gland at the bottom. Flowers are small, reddish brown, borne on spike inflorescence. Male and female flowers bloom on separate inflorescences.  Fruit is a capsule, globose, having three lobes, covered with red powdery substance, almost 1 cm in diameter. Seeds are blackish, subglobose.  Flowers and fruits are fou...

Bajna or Cape yellowwood ( Zanthoxylum rhetsa , family: Rutaceae) is a medium-sized or large deciduous tree with numerous branches. It can get a height of 10-13 m. The whole trunk and old branches are covered with strong prickles. The bark is thick and yellow.                                               Other names : Bajinali, Kata-horina, Tambul. Despite being thorny, it is quite a beautiful tree and can be planted as an ornamental plant beside roads and in parks and gardens.  In Bangladesh it is found in hilly areas Shal forests. The tree is also found in the countries of South and Southeast Asia. Flowers are very small, pale yellow, borne at the tip of the branch.  Flowering occurs in the summer. Fruits are small, almost round, blackish when ripe. Each fruit has only one seed, which is black and bright. The propagation o...