Galgal / Citron
Citrus medica
Also known as Wild Lemon
- Habit
- Shrub
- Found in India
- West Bengal, Gujarat, Meghalaya & more
- Flowering
- Throughout the year
How to identify Galgal
Identify Galgal 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.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Very thick rind, sometimes finger-like lobes.
- Confirm leaf type: Simple.
- Confirm fruit type: Hesperidium.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: Throughout the year.
- In India, compare location records such as West Bengal, Gujarat, Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Rutaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Galgal.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Citrus medica
- Genus
- Citrus
- Family
- Rutaceae
- Habit
- Shrub
- Habitat
- Thickets along streams
- Distribution
- Tropics of the World
- Found in India
- West Bengal, Gujarat, Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Sikkim, Telangana
- Flowering & fruiting
- Throughout the year
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf type
- SimplerecordedA single, undivided leaf blade.
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Characters marked “recorded” are for Galgal itself; the rest are typical of the Rutaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Fruit type
- Hesperidiumrecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Cyme
- Fruit
- Berry
Characters marked “recorded” are for Galgal itself; the rest are typical of the Rutaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- गलगल Galgal, पूरक Purak, तुरन्ज Turanj, Bijaura
- Nepali
- बिमिरो Bimiro, बिमिरो
- Bengali
- টাবা Taba, Begpura, টাবা
- Tamil
- கொம்மட்டிமாதுளை Kommatti-Matulai, கொடியெலுமிச்சை Koti-Y-Elumiccai, மாதுலங்கம் Matulankam
- Telugu
- ఆమ్లకేసర Amlakesara, మాదీఫలం Madiphalam, మాదీఫలం
- Kannada
- ಮಾದಲ, ಮಾದಳ Madala, ಮಹಾಫಲ Mahaphala
- Malayalam
- ഗണപതിനാരകം Ganapatinarakam, ഗണപതിനാരകം, Citron
- Marathi
- महाळुंग Mahalunga, मातुलुंग Matulunga, महाळुंग
- Assamese
- Jora tenga
About Galgal
A member of the Rutaceae family, Citron (Citrus medica) is a shrub. In India it has been recorded in West Bengal, Gujarat, Meghalaya and 8 other states. It grows in thickets along streams. It flowers and fruits through much of the year.
Uses
In practice it is grown for parts that are eaten, long used in traditional medicine and distilled for an aromatic oil. Those medicinal uses are traditional attributions, not medical advice.
In culture
It is treated as sacred and appears in worship and turns up in ritual and festival use.
Rutaceae
Citrus/Rue family
Galgal belongs to the Rutaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Rutaceae familySnap it. Know it.
Point your camera at Galgal or any plant and SASYA identifies it instantly — on-device, offline, and private.
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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