Scholar Tree
Alstonia scholaris
Also known as Devil Tree, Shaitaanwood Tree, Blackboard Tree, Milkwood Pine, White Cheesewood, Dita Bark, Seven leaved tree
About Scholar Tree
Alstonia scholaris, commonly called blackboard tree, scholar tree, milkwood or devil's tree in English, is an evergreen tree in the oleander and frangipani family Apocynaceae. Its natural range is from Pakistan to China, and south to northern Australia. It is a toxic plant, but is used traditionally for myriad diseases and complaints. It is called 'Saptaparna' in India and is the sacred tree of the 2nd Jain tirthankar Ajitnatha. It was first described by Linnaeus in 1767, who gave it the name Echites scholaris.
Description adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Alstonia scholaris
- Genus
- Alstonia
- Family
- APOCYNACEAE
- Habit
- Tree
- Habitat
- Moist deciduous forests
- Native to
- Australia, Asia
- Distribution
- Tropical Africa, Asia, Australasia
- Flowering & fruiting
- June-January
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (LC)
Local Names
- Hindi
- सप्तपर्णी Saptaparni, शैतान का झाड Shaitan ka jhar, चितवन Chitvan
- Nepali
- छतिवन Chhatiwan, छलामैन Chhalaamain, पालिमारा Paalimaaraa
- Bengali
- ছাতিম Chattim, ছাতিম গাছ, ছাতিম
- Tamil
- ஏழிலை பிள்ளை Ezilai piLLai முகும்பலை mukumpalai, ஏழிலைப்பாலை
- Telugu
- Daevasurippi, ఏడాకుల చెట్టు, ఏడాకుల పాల
- Kannada
- ಏೞೆಲೆ ಹಾಲೆ Aelele Haale, ಬಂತಲೆ Bantale, Doddapala
- Malayalam
- Daivappala, ഏഴിലംപാല
- Marathi
- Satvin, सातवीण, सातविण
Apocynaceae
Dogbane family
Scholar Tree belongs to the Apocynaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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