Careya arborea

It is a medium sized deciduous tree, up to 20 m tall, the leaves of which turn red in the cold season. Leaves arranged spirally, often clustered at the apices of twigs, simple, broadly obovate, tapering at base, margin toothed, stipules small, caducous.

Flowers in an erect raceme at the end of branches. Flowers are large, white. Sepals are 4, petals 4, free. Stamens are many, connate at base; disk annular; ovary inferior, with many ovules in 2 rows per cell. Fruit a large, many seeded drupes, globose to depressed globose, crowned by the persistent sepals. Seedling with hypogeal germination; cotyledons absent. Shoot with scales at the first few nodes. The fibrous bark has been applied medicinally for relieving body swellings. The juice of the bark and the calyces of the flowers are astringent and mucilaginous. They are often used internally in India for treating coughs and colds and are applied externally as an embrocation. An astringent gum exudes from the fruit and stem.