Wootz steel is a crucible steel characterized by a pattern of bands and high carbon content. These bands are formed by sheets of microscopic carbides within a tempered martensite or pearlite matrix in higher-carbon steel, or by ferrite and pearlite banding in lower-carbon steels. It was a pioneering steel alloy developed in southern India in the mid-1st millennium BC and exported globally.
Cassia fistula, also known as golden shower, purging cassia, Indian laburnum, kani konna, or pudding-pipe tree, is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. The species is native to the Indian subcontinent and adjacent regions of Southeast Asia. It is the official state flower of Kerala state and Delhi UT in India. It is also a popular ornamental plant and is also used in herbal medicine.
Couroupita guianensis, known by a variety of common names including cannonball tree, is a deciduous tree in the flowering plant family Lecythidaceae. It is native to lowland tropical rainforests of Central and South America, from Costa Rica, south to Brazil and northern Bolivia and it is cultivated in many other tropical areas throughout the world because of its fragrant flowers and large fruits, which are brownish grey. There are potential medicinal uses for many parts of Couroupita guianensis, and the tree has cultural and religious significance in South and Southeast Asia. In Sri Lanka and India, the cannonball tree has been widely misidentified as the Sal tree, after its introduction to the island by the British in 1881, and has been included as a common item in Buddhist temples as a result.
Mesua ferrea, the Ceylon ironwood, or cobra saffron, is a species in the family Calophyllaceae native to the Indomalayan realm. This slow-growing tree is named after the heaviness and hardness of its timber. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental for its graceful shape, grayish-green foliage with a striking pink to red flush of drooping young leaves, and its large, fragrant white flowers. It is the national tree of Sri Lanka, as well as the state tree of Mizoram and state flower of Tripura in India.
Lagerstroemia speciosa is a species of Lagerstroemia native to tropical southern Asia. It is a deciduous tree with bright pink to light purple flowers.
Madhuca longifolia is an Indian tropical tree found largely in the central, southern, north Indian plains and forests, Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. It is commonly known as madhūka, mahura,madkam, mahuwa, Butter Tree,mahura, mahwa, mohulo, Iluppai, Mee or Ippa-chettu. It is a fast-growing tree that grows to approximately 20 meters in height, possesses evergreen or semi-evergreen foliage, and belongs to the family Sapotaceae. It is adaptable to arid environments, being a prominent tree in tropical mixed deciduous forests in India in the states of Maharashtra, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
Aphanamixis polystachya, the pithraj tree, is a species of tree in the family Meliaceae. It is native to India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. It is a widely used as a medicinal plant in Ayurveda.
Memecylon is a plant group in Melastomataceae. It consists of 350-400 species of small to medium-sized trees and shrubs occurring in the Old World tropics. Memecylon is a monophyletic group basal to the Melastomataceae clade. Memecylon taxa have more than 600 published basionyms. Diversity of this group is concentrated in tropical Africa, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, India and Malaysia.
Borassus flabellifer, commonly known as doub palm, palmyra palm, tala or tal palm, toddy palm, lontar palm, wine palm, or ice apple, is a fan palm native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is reportedly naturalized in Socotra.
Senna auriculata is a leguminous tree in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae. It is commonly known by its local names matura tea tree, avaram or ranawara, or the English version avaram senna. It is the State flower of Indian state of Telangana. It occurs in the dry regions of India and Sri Lanka. It is common along the sea coast and the dry zone in Sri Lanka.
Chukrasia tabularis, the Indian mahogany, is a deciduous, tropical forest tree species in the family Meliaceae. It is native to Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. Also introduced to many western countries such as Cameroon, Costa Rica, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, South Africa, and United States.
Rotheca serrata, commonly known as the blue fountain bush, the blue-flowered glory tree or the beetle killer, is a species of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae. It is native to India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.
Helicteres isora, sometimes called the Indian screw tree, is a small tree or large shrub found in southern Asia and northern Oceania. It is usually assigned to the family Malvaceae, but it is sometimes assigned to the family Sterculiaceae. The red flowers are pollinated mainly by sunbirds, butterflies, and Hymenoptera. In the 19th century fibers from the bark were used to make rope and sacks, although nowadays the tree is harvested for the fruits and roots which are used in folk medicine.
Nagkesar oil is extracted from seeds of the nagkesar tree. It belongs to the Calophyllaceae family. It is an East Indian evergreen tree and is often planted as an ornamental for its fragrant white flowers that yield a perfume. It is the source of hardwood used for railroad ties. It is Sri Lanka's national tree.
Vitex altissima, the peacock chaste tree, is a species of woody plant reaching some 20 m in height, in the family of Lamiaceae. It is native to the Indomalayan realm, namely Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka, and is also found in New Guinea. Its greyish bark becomes scaly with maturity. The leaves are trifoliolate or palmate, compound and opposite. They are elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate in shape with acuminate apex and cuneate base. The margin is serrate or sometimes entire. The inflorescences are in terminal panicles. The corolla is bluish white. The purplish black fruit is a four-seeded drupe.
Vitex leucoxylon, the white wood chaste tree, is a species of deciduous woody plant with 15m height, in the family Lamiaceae. Native to Western Ghats of India and Sri Lanka. Bark is brown in color. Leaves compound, digitate; apex acute to obtuse; base cuneate - attenuate; margin entire. Inflorescence is corymbose cymes. Corolla is white with purple color. Fruit is purplish black with four seeded smooth drupe.
Alseodaphne semecarpifolia is a species of 18m tall plant in the family Lauraceae. It is a tree endemic to the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka. It is threatened by habitat loss. The bark is brown in color. Leaves are simple, alternate; lamina obovate, apex obtuse or rounded; base cuneate to acute; margin entire; 6 to 10 secondary nerves. Flowers show panicle inflorescence. Fruit is a one-seeded berry.
Persea macrantha, the large-flowered bay tree, is an evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae), native to southwestern India and Sri Lanka.
Memecylon angustifolium, or blue mist, is a species of plant in the family Melastomataceae. It is native to India and Sri Lanka. Leaves are simple, opposite, decussate; lamina narrow linear-elliptic to linear-lanceolate; apex acute, base attenuate, with entire margin. Flowers are blue in color and show axillary umbels inflorescence. Fruit is a blackish purple, one-seeded berry.
Flueggea leucopyrus is a species of shrub or tree. It primarily grows in wet tropical biomes. Its common names include Indian snowberry, white honey shrub, bushweed, and cool pot.
