Ficus tsjahela

Ficus tsjahela is a fig tree from the family Moraceae which is found in peninsular India and Sri Lanka. It is commonly known as the kaaral in Malayalam, kal-aal in Tamil and boviyamara in Kannada.

State wise distribution

Ficus tsjahela occurs in coastal regions of Maharashtra and Karnataka, all districts of Kerala and in many districts of Tamil Nadu. In Maharashtra, the tree is found in Ahmednagar, Ratnagiri, Satara and Sindhudurg districts. In Karnataka, F. tsjahela occurs in Chikmagalur, Hassan, Mysore, Shimoga, North and South Kanara districts.
In Tamil Nadu, the tree ranges in Coimbatore, Dharmapuri, Kanyakumari, Nilgiri, Tamil Nadu|Salem], Tirunelveli, Tiruvannamalai, Vellore and Viluppuram. In Kerala, the tree is reported from Neeliyar Kottam, a sacred grove in Kannur District.

Field description

Habit

Deciduous trees up to 25 m tall.

Trunk and bark

Bark dark brown; blaze red.

Branches and branchlets

Branchlets terete, glabrous.
Exudates
Latex white, profuse.

Leaves

Leaves simple, alternate, spiral; stipules foliaceous, 0.7 cm long, caducous and leaving annular scar; petiole ca. 6 cm long, canaliculate, glabrous; lamina to 20 x 8 cm, oblong, elliptic-oblong, apex acuminate, base rounded, coriaceous, margin entire, glabrous and glossy; basally 3-nerved; midrib raised above; secondary nerves 6-10 pairs, prominent and parallel, looped near the margin; tertiary nerves reticulate.

Inflorescence / flower

Inflorescence syconia, sessile, depressed-globose, in clusters of 2-6, on very short crowded tubercles in the axils of the leaves or most frequently at the scars of fallen leaves; flowers unisexual.

Fruit and seeds

Syconium, sessile, ca. 0.5 cm across, greenish; achenes smooth.