What is bahera's role in Triphala?

It's one of the three dried fruits — alongside haritaki (Terminalia chebula) and amla (Phyllanthus emblica) — that make up the traditional Ayurvedic formula Triphala.

How can you tell bahera from harad?

Bahera's fruit is rounder and covered in fine down, while harad (Terminalia chebula) fruit is more sharply five-ribbed and smooth — both trees are otherwise similar in habit.

✿Combretaceae · Terminalia

Bahera / Belliric Myrobalan

Terminalia bellirica

Also known as Bedda Nut Tree

TreeoutdoorMedicinal

Habit: Tree
Found in India: Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu & more
Flowering: March-December

Identify this plant with SASYA

How to identify Bahera

Identify Bahera 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: Velvety, faintly 5-ridged round fruit.
Confirm fruit type: Small round drupe.
In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: March-December.
In India, compare location records such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and nearby regions.
Confirm it sits within the Combretaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Bahera.

Plant Details

Scientific name: Terminalia bellirica
Genus: Terminalia
Family: Combretaceae
Habit: Tree
Habitat: Semi-evergreen and moist deciduous forests, also in the plains
Habitat type: Forest
Native to: Indian subcontinent
Distribution: India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Indo-China, Malesia
Found in India: Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Andhra Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab
Flowering & fruiting: March-December
Conservation status: Not Evaluated (NE)

Leaf characters

Type: Simple
Margin: Entire
Venation: Pinnate

Typical of the Combretaceae family — a field-mark hint, not measured for this exact species.

Flower & fruit characters

Fruit type: Small round druperecorded

Typical of the family

Flower symmetry: Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
Inflorescence: Spike
Fruit: Drupe

Characters marked “recorded” are for Bahera itself; the rest are typical of the Combretaceae family — flowering plants only.

Local Names

Hindi: बहेड़ा bahera, बहुवीर्य bahuvirya, भूतवास bhutvaas, Kalk
Nepali: बर्रो barro, बर्रो
Bengali: বহেড়া baheda, Baheda, Bahera
Tamil: தான்றி tanri, Semmaram, தான்றி
Telugu: భూతావాసము bhutavasamu, కర్షఫలము karshaphalamu, తాడి tadi, Tadi
Kannada: ತಾಱಿ, ತಾರಿ Taari, ತಾಱೆ, Tare Mara
Malayalam: താന്നി thaanni, Thanni, താന്നി
Marathi: बेहडा behada, बिभीतक bibhītaka, कलिद्रुम kalidruma, Kalidruma
Sanskrit: Bahuvirya, Bibhitakah
Gujarati: Baheda
Odia: Bahada
Assamese: Bhoira
Urdu: Bahera

Bahera in India

This large deciduous tree, known as बहेड़ा bahera (Hindi), தான்றி tanri (Tamil), భూతావాసము bhutavasamu (Telugu), ತಾಱಿ (Kannada), താന്നി thaanni (Malayalam), बेहडा behada (Marathi), produces one of the three fruits used in Ayurveda's Triphala. Terminalia bellirica is found across Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttarakhand, typically in deciduous forest alongside other Terminalia species.

Uses

Its dried fruit (bahera) is the second of the three fruits combined into Triphala, a long-used Ayurvedic preparation — a traditional use, not a medical claim — and its bark and fruit have also been used in tanning and dyeing.

How to Identify Bahera

A large deciduous tree with leaves clustered near the ends of the branches. Small, unpleasant-smelling flowers appear in spikes, followed by a rounded, faintly five-angled, downy fruit that dries hard and grey-brown.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Belliric myrobalan called in different Indian languages?: बहेड़ा bahera (Hindi); தான்றி tanri (Tamil); భూతావాసము bhutavasamu (Telugu); ತಾಱಿ (Kannada); താന്നി thaanni (Malayalam); बेहडा behada (Marathi); বহেড়া baheda (Bengali); Baheda (Gujarati); Bahada (Odia); Bahuvirya (Sanskrit).
What is bahera's role in Triphala?: It's one of the three dried fruits — alongside haritaki (Terminalia chebula) and amla (Phyllanthus emblica) — that make up the traditional Ayurvedic formula Triphala.
How can you tell bahera from harad?: Bahera's fruit is rounder and covered in fine down, while harad (Terminalia chebula) fruit is more sharply five-ribbed and smooth — both trees are otherwise similar in habit.

Botanical family

Combretaceae

Indian almond family

Bahera belongs to the Combretaceae family.

The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.

Explore the Combretaceae family

Snap it. Know it.

Point your camera at Bahera or any plant and SASYA identifies it instantly — on-device, offline, and private.

Download SASYA — Free

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.

All plant problem & care guides

More in Combretaceae

View all Combretaceae

Sources: GBIF — Terminalia bellirica (India distribution & vernacular names) (CC BY 4.0) · Wikipedia — Terminalia bellirica (background/comprehension only) (CC BY-SA 4.0)