Rank Species | Genus Manilkara Higher classification Manilkara | |
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Similar Diospyros malabarica, Betula alnoides, Manilkara, Desmos chinensis, Cotylelobium lanceolatum | ||
Manilkara hexandra is a species in the tribe Sapoteae, in the Sapotaceae family that is native to much of south Asia (China: Hainan and southern Guangxi provinces; the Indian Subcontinent: Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka; Indo-China: Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
M. hexandra is a slow-growing evergreen tree that grows in tropical and temperate forests. It grows 40 to 80 feet tall and one to three meters in circumference. The bark is grayish black and rough. The wood is hard, heavy, and durable, weighing 32 kilograms (70 pounds) per cubic foot (0.03 m3). The bark colour ranges from dark pink to dark purple. It is used for heavy structural work, gate posts, and big beams.
It is used as rootstock for M. zapota, the latter being grafted on the former, and its fruit is edible.
It is locally known as the Khirni tree in Bangladesh and India. In India, several regional names exist. In Tamizh it is called Ulakkaippaalai or Kanuppaalai.
It is also called "Palu" (පලු) in Sinhalese or Palai and Rayan.
