Te-Lenga-Mai / Nilgiri Actephila
Actephila excelsa
- Habit
- Shrub
- Found in India
- Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Meghalaya, Maharashtra & more
- Flowering
- April-May
How to identify Te-Lenga-Mai
Identify Te-Lenga-Mai by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a shrub habit.
- Confirm leaf arrangement: Alternate.
- Confirm leaf shape: Obovate.
- Confirm flower colour: Green.
- Confirm flower arrangement: Solitary.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: April-May.
- In India, compare location records such as Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and nearby regions.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Actephila excelsa
- Genus
- Actephila
- Family
- Euphorbiaceae
- Habit
- Shrub
- Habitat
- Evergreen and semi-Evergreen forests
- Habitat type
- Forest
- Distribution
- India, Sri Lanka
- Found in India
- Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh
- Flowering & fruiting
- April-May
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf arrangement
- AlternaterecordedOne leaf per node, arranged in a spiral or zigzag up the stem.“Leaves are alternate, though subopposite at the end of branches, smooth to slightly to completely covered in hairs, with an elliptic (sometimes more or less obovate) blade some (4-” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf shape
- ObovaterecordedEgg-shaped but broader near the tip rather than the base.“Leaves are alternate, though subopposite at the end of branches, smooth to slightly to completely covered in hairs, with an elliptic (sometimes more or less obovate) blade some (4-” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf margin
- Entire (smooth edge)recorded
- Leaf surface
- GlabrousrecordedSmooth, hairless.“Leaves are alternate, though subopposite at the end of branches, smooth to slightly to completely covered in hairs, with an elliptic (sometimes more or less obovate) blade some (4-” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
Characters marked “recorded” are for Te-Lenga-Mai itself; the rest are typical of the Euphorbiaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- GreenrecordedGreen or greenish
- Flower arrangement
- SolitaryrecordedA single flower borne alone, not in a cluster.“Solitary to bundled flowers, white to greenish-white.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Fruit type
- CapsulerecordedA dry fruit from a fused ovary that splits open at maturity to release seeds.“The fruit capsule is oblate, some 1.5 by 2-2.5 cm in diameter with a brown skin and yellowish-white inside.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Cyme
- Fruit
- Capsule
Characters marked “recorded” are for Te-Lenga-Mai itself; the rest are typical of the Euphorbiaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Mizo
- Te-lenga-mai
About Te-Lenga-Mai
Nilgiri Actephila (Actephila excelsa) belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family, where it grows as a shrub. In India it has been recorded in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Meghalaya, Maharashtra and 5 other states. It grows in evergreen and semi-Evergreen forests. Flowering and fruiting run from April to May.
Uses
Locally it is grown for parts that are eaten and cut for timber and furniture.
Euphorbiaceae
Spurge/Euphorbia family
Te-Lenga-Mai belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Euphorbiaceae familySnap it. Know it.
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Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
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