Madhuca longifolia
Madhuca longifolia
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
A plant of the subtropics to the hot tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 1,200 metres[1]. Able to resist some frost, it grows in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 2 - 46°c. It grows best where the mean annual rainfall is between 550 - 1,500mm[1]. Requires a sunny position[1]. Prefers a deep loamy or sandy-loam soil with good drainage[1]. It also occurs on shallow bouldery, clayey and calcareous soils[1]. Established plants are drought resistant[1]. A long-lived tree, it commences bearing when about 10 years old[1]. A full grown tree can produce up to 90 kg of flowers in a year[1]. Trees coppice well if they are felled when dormant in the hot season[1]. They can be worked on 25 - 30 year coppice cycle to produce a mean annual increment of 3 - 5 cubic metres/ha[1].
Propagation
Seed - propagated by direct seeding, seedlings or stumps[1]. Seeds should be sown when fresh in long polypots to accommodate the long taproot. Seedlings should be ready to plant in 2-4 months, or can be maintained for longer with regular root pruning. Seedlings are frost tender. 1-year-old stumps establish more successfully than bare root seedlings[1]. Seeds are produced plentifully every second or third year. They lose viability within a short period and the oily fruit should be sown directly in the field as the seeds become available[1]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Madhuca+longifolia>
Pollinators
Bats
References
- [1]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
- [2]Flora of Pakistan — http://www.efloras.org ↩︎As of 2006, there is not much information on habitats available, but it is being developed and promises to be an excellent resource.
- [3]Plants and People of Nepal — Manandhar. N. P. · Timber Press. Oregon. · 2002 · ISBN 0-88192-527-6 ↩︎Excellent book, covering over 1,500 species of useful plants from Nepal together with information on the geography and peoples of Nepal. Good descriptions of the plants with terse notes on their uses.
- [4]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
- [5]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
- [6]Perennial Edible Fruits of the Tropics : an Inventory — Martin, F. W.; Campbell, C. W.; Rubertbe, R. M. · U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service · 1987 ↩︎A booklet giving terse details of almost 300 species of edible fruits, plus regional lists of Botanical and Common names for over 2,500 less well-known edible fruits of the tropics.
- [7]Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). — Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. · Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. · 1986 · ISBN - ↩︎Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
- [8]Nuts. — Howes. F. N. · Faber · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎Rather old but still a masterpiece. Has sections on tropical and temperate plants with edible nuts plus a section on nut plants in Britain. Very readable.