Botanical Name - Memecylon edule

----- Memecylon, Linn.; F.B.I. II-553. M. edule, Roxb.; F.B.I. II-563. Brandi's Ind. Trees, 335. Gamble's Ind. Timbers, 368. Vern. Alli, Tel.

----- A small evergreen tree. Bark thin, light-brown corky, narrowly cleft vertically. Leaves coriaceous, deep-grass and shining, 2-4 in. long, shortly petioled, elliptic, slightly acute at the apex, penniveined with the veins generally obscure. Flowers brilliant blue in small pedunculate cymes, forming dense round balls on the naked stem generally above the scars of fallen laeves. Calyx-tube hemispherical or campanulate, the limb entire or obtusely 4-lobed, rarely 5-lobed, lined with a disk, but without any radiating wings. Petals 4 or rarely 5, ovate or orbicular. Stamens elongate, twice as many as petals. Ovary inferior, 1-celled, surmounted by a disk with 8 radiating grooves; style as long as or much longer than the stamens. Berry nearly dry or only slightly succulent, edible, black when ripe, 1/4 in. diam. seeds solitary.

----- Common throughout the Godavari forests, generally along nallah beds and streams. It is very conspicuous in the hot weather with its bright green leaves when all other trees are leafless. It is a very handsome ornamental tree with bright glowwy green leaves and its pretty blue flowers give it a very attractive appearance. Wood light brown, very hard, close-grained, used locally for house-posts; makes excellent fuel and charcoal. Flowers in the cold season. Closely associated with M. edule is also found M. umbellatum, Burm. (Vern. Pedda alli, Tel.) It has " leaves very variable in size up to 6 in long, and the pedicels are sessile on the tubercles in the old exils within the Mahdeopur Reserve. Gamble in " Indian Timbers " regards them as two distinct species whereas, Brandis in " Indian Trees " and Beddome in " Flora Sylvatica " unite both under one form. In actual growth the plants differ donsiderably, and are easily distinguished.