Gangiva / Blinding Tree
Excoecaria agallocha
Also known as Agallocha
- Habit
- Tree
- Found in India
- Kerala, Maharashtra, West Bengal & more
- Flowering
- February-June
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Excoecaria agallocha
- Genus
- Excoecaria
- Family
- Euphorbiaceae
- Habit
- Tree
- Habitat
- Banks of backwaters and mangrove forests
- Native to
- India to Pacific Islands
- Distribution
- India, Sri Lanka to Formosa, Malaysia, Pacific Islands, Australia, Ryu Kyu Islands
- Found in India
- Kerala, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Goa, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh
- Flowering & fruiting
- February-June
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (LC)
Leaf characters
- Leaf margin
- Toothed (serrate/dentate edge)recorded
- Leaf surface
- Glabrous (smooth, hairless)recorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Characters marked “recorded” are for Gangiva itself; the rest are typical of the Euphorbiaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- GreenrecordedGreen or greenish
- Fruit type
- CapsulerecordedA dry fruit from a fused ovary that splits open at maturity to release seeds.“The fruit is a small dark capsule.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Cyme
- Fruit
- Capsule
Characters marked “recorded” are for Gangiva itself; the rest are typical of the Euphorbiaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- Gangiva, Tejbala, গেওয়া
- Bengali
- gewa, গেওয়া
- Tamil
- தில்லை tillai, அகதி akati, ஆக்கொல்லி akkolli
- Kannada
- hara, haro, haaro gida
- Malayalam
- കോമട്ടി koomatti, കടപ്പാല
- Marathi
- गेवा geva
About Gangiva
Blinding Tree (Excoecaria agallocha) belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family, where it grows as a tree. In India it has been recorded in Kerala, Maharashtra, West Bengal and 8 other states. It grows in banks of backwaters and mangrove forests. Flowering and fruiting run from February to June.
Uses
Parts of this plant are reported as poisonous — treat it as unsafe to eat and wash your hands after handling.
Euphorbiaceae
Spurge/Euphorbia family
Gangiva belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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