Badi Gumchi / Coral Seed Tree
Adenanthera pavonina
Also known as Barricari Seed Tree, Circassian Seed Tree, Red-Wood Tree, Coral Wood Tree, Red Bead Tree
- Habit
- Tree
- Found in India
- Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra & more
- Flowering
- January-September
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Adenanthera pavonina
- Genus
- Adenanthera
- Family
- Mimosaceae
- Habit
- Tree
- Habitat
- Planted
- Habitat type
- Cultivated
- Distribution
- India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, China, Malaysia, planted elsewhere
- Found in India
- Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Karnataka, Assam
- Flowering & fruiting
- January-September
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Typical of the Mimosaceae family — a field-mark hint, not measured for this exact species.
Flower & fruit characters
Typical of the Mimosaceae family — flowering plants only; individual species can differ.
Local Names
- Hindi
- रक्तचंदन Rakt chandan, बड़ी गुम्ची Badi gumchi, बड़ी गुम्ची
- Bengali
- Ranjana, রঞ্জনা
- Tamil
- Ani kundamani, Manjadi, யானைக் குண்டுமணி
- Telugu
- Gurivenda, Enugaguruginji, బండి గుర్విన
- Kannada
- ಆನೆಗುಲಗಂಜಿ Aane gulaganji, ದೊಡ್ಡಗುಲಗಂಜಿ Doddagulaganji, ಮಂಚಟಿಗೆ Manchatige
- Malayalam
- Sem, Manchadi, മഞ്ചാടി
- Marathi
- थोरला गुंज Thorla goonj, रक्तचंदन, थोरला गुंज
- Sinhala
- මදටිය
Badi Gumchi in India
This tree, known as रक्तचंदन Rakt chandan (Hindi), Ani kundamani (Tamil), Gurivenda (Telugu), ಆನೆಗುಲಗಂಜಿ Aane gulaganji (Kannada), Sem (Malayalam), थोरला गुंज Thorla goonj (Marathi), is best known for its hard, glossy red seeds. Adenanthera pavonina is found across Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Karnataka, Assam, typically in deciduous and semi-evergreen forest.
Uses
Its hard, uniformly sized red seeds have traditionally been used as small weights by goldsmiths and jewellers, and strung into beads and rosaries; the timber has also been used for construction in some regions.
How to Identify Badi Gumchi
A tall deciduous tree with bipinnate compound leaves made of several small oval leaflets. Small, fragrant, pale yellow flower spikes are followed by long, curling, twisted pods that split open to reveal the tree's signature feature: hard, glossy, bright red seeds that persist on the pod long after ripening.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Coral seed Tree called in different Indian languages?
- रक्तचंदन Rakt chandan (Hindi); Ani kundamani (Tamil); Gurivenda (Telugu); ಆನೆಗುಲಗಂಜಿ Aane gulaganji (Kannada); Sem (Malayalam); थोरला गुंज Thorla goonj (Marathi); Ranjana (Bengali).
- Why were the seeds used as weights?
- Each seed is remarkably uniform in weight, which made them a convenient traditional standard for goldsmiths weighing small quantities of gold before standardised metal weights became common.
- Is this the same as red sandalwood?
- No — this tree is sometimes casually called by a similar name in some regions, but true red sandalwood is a different, unrelated and far more famous tree, Pterocarpus santalinus.
Mimosaceae
Mimosa/Acacia family
Badi Gumchi belongs to the Mimosaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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Common plant problems
All plant problem & care guides →More in Mimosaceae
View all Mimosaceae →Sources: GBIF — Adenanthera pavonina (India distribution & vernacular names) (CC BY 4.0) · Wikipedia — Adenanthera pavonina (background/comprehension only) (CC BY-SA 4.0)