Garari / Toxic Gooseberry
Cleistanthus collinus
- Habit
- Tree
- Found in India
- Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh & more
- Flowering
- June-February
How to identify Garari
Identify Garari by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a tree habit.
- Confirm leaf margin: Entire (smooth edge).
- Confirm leaf surface: Glabrous (smooth, hairless).
- Confirm flower colour: Green.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: June-February.
- In India, compare location records such as Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Euphorbiaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Garari.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Cleistanthus collinus
- Genus
- Cleistanthus
- Family
- Euphorbiaceae
- Habit
- Tree
- Habitat
- Deciduous forests
- Habitat type
- Forest
- Native to
- India, Sri Lanka
- Distribution
- India, Sri Lanka
- Found in India
- Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, West Bengal
- Flowering & fruiting
- June-February
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (VU)
Leaf characters
- Leaf margin
- Entire (smooth edge)recorded
- Leaf surface
- Glabrous (smooth, hairless)recorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Characters marked “recorded” are for Garari itself; the rest are typical of the Euphorbiaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- GreenrecordedGreen or greenish
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Cyme
- Fruit
- Capsule
Characters marked “recorded” are for Garari itself; the rest are typical of the Euphorbiaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- गराड़ी Garari, गर्राड़ Garrar
- Tamil
- ஒடுவங்காய் Otuvankaay, Nilaippalai, Odaichi, ஒடுவன் தழை
- Telugu
- Kadise, Korshe, Korsi
- Kannada
- Badedarige, ಬೋಳದರಗ Boladaraga, Bodadaraga, ಬೋಳದರಗ
- Malayalam
- Nilappala, Odugu, ഒടുക്ക്
- Marathi
- Garari, गराड़ी
About Garari
A member of the Euphorbiaceae family, Toxic Gooseberry (Cleistanthus collinus) is a tree. In India it has been recorded in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and 6 other states. It grows in deciduous forests. Flowering and fruiting run from June to February.
Euphorbiaceae
Spurge/Euphorbia family
Garari 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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