False Ashoka

Description:

Monoon longifolium, often known as the false ashoka or Polyalthia longifolia, is an Asian tiny evergreen flowering plant in the Annonaceae family. It is endemic to southern India and Sri Lanka, but has spread widely over tropical Asia. It grows in a symmetric dome shape with drooping curvy branches and long narrow elliptical leaves with undulate ends. Monoon longifolium flowers are star-shaped and have six thin, linear petals in a pale green to greenish yellow color. For the plant’s fruits, they are smooth, ovoid to cylindrical in shape, and grow in bunches of 20. Immature fruits are yellowish green and turn purplish black as they ripen. Every fruit seems to have a large single seed which is pale brown in color and ovoid to cylindrical in shape with a curving longitudinal trench running through it. Birds and bats both enjoy the fruits.

Habitat:

In its natural habitat, the plant can reach more than 20 meters in height. The hue of the developing leaves is coppery brown; as the leaves age, the color changes to light green, then dark green. This plant have hardwoods too which is one of the parameters of an angiosperm plant. Its wood is now primarily used to make little items like paintbrushes, packages, and man - made materials.

Notes:

The leaf arrangement is oscillating, with one leaf each node on the branches. During festivals, the leaves are used as beautiful decorations.