| Large-flowered bay tree | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Embryophytes |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Spermatophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Magnoliids |
| Order: | Laurales |
| Family: | Lauraceae |
| Genus: | Machilus |
| Species: | M. macranthus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Machilus macranthus | |
| Synonyms1 | |
|
Persea macrantha (Nees) Kosterm. | |
Machilus macranthus, the large-flowered bay tree,2 is an evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae), native to India, Sri Lanka, the Himalayas, Myanmar, and western Yunnan in south-central China.1
The tree grows in the Western Ghats mountain range of India, and can reach 30 m (98 ft). Leaves are simple, alternate, spiral; lamina obovate or elliptic to elliptic-oblong; apex rounded or acuminate or acute; base acute to rounded with entire margin.3 Flowers show terminal panicle inflorescence. Fruit is a berry which becomes blackish on ripening.4
The plant is known to have medicinal properties and used in Ayurveda.5
Common names
- Kannada - chittu thandri, gulamaavu, gulimaavu
- Malayalam - kulamavu, ooravu
- Marathi - gulaamba
- Tamil - iruli, kolamavu, kolarmavu
- Telugu - naara
References
References
- "Machilus macranthus Nees". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
- Persea macrantha - Large-Flowered Bay Tree
- Persea macrantha (Nees) Kosterm | Species | India Biodiversity Portal
- Persea macrantha - LAURACEAE
- Ayurvedic Medicinal Plants Persea macrantha Archived 2015-06-26 at the Wayback Machine