Haryana Forest Flora
A Comprehensive Database of Ligneous Plants of Haryana (India)
Designed & Developed by Bioinformatics Centre,Forest Research Institute, Dehradun
| Family: Annonaceae | Genus: Polyalthia | Species: Polyalthia longifolia (Sonn.) Thwaites( अशोक ) |
Habit |
Leaf |
Flower |
Fruit |
Bark |
|
|
| Synonym | Guatteria longifolia (Sonn.)
Wall. |
Flower Color | White |
| Common Name | Ashok, False Ashok | Flower Type | Solitary |
| English / Trade Name | False Ashok, Mast Tree | Flowering Period | April-June |
| Vernacular /Local Name | Ashok | Fruiting Period | July-Sept |
| Altitude | Up to 1500 m | Fruit Type | Pod |
| Habit | Tree | Fruit Details | Fruit subglobose or ellipsoid monocarps, obtuse at base and apex, green when young, dark purplish black when ripe; seeds 1, pale brown to light brown, longitudinally grooved, ovoid. |
| Habitat | Common; moist shady localities, edges of forests. | Bark Type | Smooth |
| Distribution | Found natively in India and Sri Lanka. It is introduced in many tropical countries. It is, widely used in Jakarta in Indonesia. | Bark Details | Bark dark grayish brown, branches sparsely puberulous when young, glabrous when mature |
| Distribution in Haryana | Ambala, Bhiwani, Faridabad, Fatehabad, Gurgaon, Hisar, Jhajjar, Jind, Kaithal, Karnal, Kurukshetra, M. Garh, Mewat, Morni-Pinjore, Palwal, Panipat, Rewari, Rohtak, Sirsa, Sonepat, Yamuna Nagar | Origin | Native |
| Leaf Type | Simple | ||
| Leaf Arrangement | Alternate (leaves born singly along stem) | ||
| Leaf Shape | Lence shaped | ||
| Description of Species | A weeping, branching habit tree up to 20 m tall, gives it a narrow columnar shape. Leaves glossy green, long, narrow with attractive wavy edges. Sometimes wide-spreading slender branches issue from the straight trunk and form a compact symmetrical crown. The tree is covered with a profusion of delicate, star-like flowers, which, being palest-green in colour, give the tree a peculiar hazy appearance. Each flower, borne on a slim, green stem has a tiny calyx and six long, narrow, wavy petals arranged in two sets of three. | Leaf Details | Leaves simple, alternate, narrow lanceolate or linear lanceolate, base slightly acute or cuneate, margin wavy or undulate, apex long acuminate, membranous, coriaceous, faintly aromatic, shining dark green, glabrous above, paler glaucous beneath. |
