Polyalthia longifolia, Benth, and Hook. |
(Syn. Guatteria longifolia) |
Family : Annonaceae |
| Common Name : Mast Tree, Debe-daru |
Telugu Name : Asoka |
General :
It is not found in the forests but grown commonly as an ornamental plant and avenue tree. Identified by smooth, dark-greyish brown bark, and lanceolate, long-acuminate, undulate leaves.
Flowering :
Numerous yellowish-green flowers on long slender pedicels appear in February to May.
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| Fruiting : |
| Fruits appear in bunches and ripen from June-August and fall on the ground. |
| Morphology of the Fruit / Seed : |
| Fruit avoid, 2 cms long with a stalk of 2.5 to 3 cms length. The fruits become pink or reddish black when ripe. |
| Seed Collection and Storage : |
Fruits are collected by lopping the branches or swept from the floor, heaped to rot and washed in water to take out the pulp. The seeds are dried in the shade. Seeds have a short viability. |
| Seed Biology : |
No. of seeds per Kg. |
Germination percentage |
Plant percent |
Time for germination in days |
No. of seedlings per Kg. of seed |
595 |
60 |
58 |
7 to 10 |
345 |
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Pretreatment : |
| Not required. |
| Nursery Technique : |
Seeds are put in polybags soon after collection and germination starts in 7 to 10 days and is completed with 2 to 3 weeks. Beds are watered regularly. One year old seedlings are planted out.
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