Chenkurinji / Redwood Tree
Gluta travancorica
- Habit
- Tree
- Found in India
- Tamil Nadu, Kerala
- Flowering
- March-January
How to identify Chenkurinji
Identify Chenkurinji 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.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Reddish timber (redwood tree).
- Confirm leaf arrangement: Alternate.
- Confirm leaf type: Simple.
- Confirm flower colour: White.
- Confirm flower arrangement: Panicle.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: March-January.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Gluta travancorica
- Genus
- Gluta
- Family
- Anacardiaceae
- Habit
- Tree
- Habitat
- Evergreen forests
- Habitat type
- Forest
- Found in India
- Tamil Nadu, Kerala
- Flowering & fruiting
- March-January
- Conservation status
- Endangered (EN)
Leaf characters
- Leaf arrangement
- AlternaterecordedOne leaf per node, arranged in a spiral or zigzag up the stem.“The leaves are simple and alternate characteristically clustered at the tips of branchlets giving the appearance of a whorl.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf type
- SimplerecordedA single, undivided leaf blade.“The leaves are simple and alternate characteristically clustered at the tips of branchlets giving the appearance of a whorl.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf shape
- Simplerecorded
- Leaf margin
- EntirerecordedA smooth, unbroken edge with no teeth or notches.“The margin is entire and the leaves are thick and glabrous (non-hairy).” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf surface
- PubescentrecordedCovered in short, soft hairs.“The margin is entire and the leaves are thick and glabrous (non-hairy).” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
Characters marked “recorded” are for Chenkurinji itself; the rest are typical of the Anacardiaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Whiterecorded“The cream-coloured flowers are bisexual, about 8 mm in diameter, and arranged in axillary and terminal panicles, with a spathaceous and deciduous calyx.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Flower arrangement
- PaniclerecordedA branching cluster of clusters.“The cream-coloured flowers are bisexual, about 8 mm in diameter, and arranged in axillary and terminal panicles, with a spathaceous and deciduous calyx.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Fruit type
- DruperecordedA fleshy fruit with a single hard stone/pit enclosing the seed.“The fruit is a round drupe, about 2.5-3.5 cm, brown in colour and scurfy.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Panicle
- Fruit
- Drupe
Characters marked “recorded” are for Chenkurinji itself; the rest are typical of the Anacardiaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Malayalam
- Chenkurinji, Thodappa, ചെന്തുരുണി
About Chenkurinji
A member of the Anacardiaceae family, Redwood tree (Gluta travancorica) is a tree. In India it has been recorded in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It grows in evergreen forests. Flowering and fruiting run from March to January.
Anacardiaceae
Cashew family
Chenkurinji belongs to the Anacardiaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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Common plant problems
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