Scientific Name : Terminalia catappa L.
Common Name : Indian Almond
Chinese Name : 欖仁樹, 大葉欖仁, 山枇杷樹
Family : COMBRETACEAE
Local distribution status : Exotic species
| Origins | Guangdong, Hainan and Yunnan provinces. The Indian Almond has a broad range of distribution that includes Southeast Asian countries, the Indochina Peninsula, Northern Australia, Indian Ocean islands and tropical regions of South America. |
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| Applications | The Indian Almond is a common street tree and gardening plant in tropical areas. The species demonstrates a beautiful growth form through its broad umbrella-shaped crown. Its branches spread in an orderly manner, forming distinctive layers. The green leaves turn orange-red to purplish-red before shedding in autumn and winter, showing clear seasonal variation. It can also be an alternative for “Autumn Leaves” appreciation. The fruits of the Indian Almond are edible, and the seeds can be used to extract oil for human consumption, industrial and medicinal uses. Its timber is auburn in colour and corrosion resistant, which means it can be used for furniture and construction materials. Its bark contains tannin, which can be made into black dye. |
| Meanings of names | The Indian Almond is also known as "Large-leaf Almond (大葉欖仁)" in Chinese. It is opposite to the Terminalia mantaly H. Perrier, which has the Chinese name “Small-Leaf Almond (小葉欖仁)”. The major difference between the two is clearly known by their names. The leaf of Indian Almond is many times larger than that of “Small-Leaf Almond”. |
| Growing habit | Semi-deciduous tree. |
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| Height | To 20 m. |
| Stems | Bark of trunk brownish black, longitudinally cracking and peeling. Branches spreading, forming distinct tiers. |
| Leaves | Large, alternate, crowded at apices into pseudowhorls. Obovate to elliptic-obovate, apex obtuse or mucronate, with a pair of glands near margin of the base. Lateral veins 10 to 12 pairs. |
| Flowers | Greenish white. Flowers many, fragrant, without petals. Calyx tube cupular, lobes 5, triangular. Inflorescences slender, axillary. |
| Fruits | Ellipsoid, slightly compressed, 2-ribbed, ribs narrowly winged, greenish black when mature. Pericarp woody, rigid. |
| Flowering period | March to June in Hong Kong. |
| Fruiting period | July to September in Hong Kong. |
Scientific name above is based on Hong Kong Herbarium website : https://www.herbarium.gov.hk/en/hk-plant-database/plant-detail/index.html?pType=species&oID=8454
Scientific names from other databases
― Flora of China : Terminalia catappa Linnaeus
― Plants of the World Online : Terminalia catappa L.