Murraya koenigii (L.) Spreng.

Not commonly found in the wild state. The ‘curry leaf’ is frequently cultivated in gardens. Leaves are used as a condiment to flavour curries.

Small tree, c. 3.5 m tall, branches pubescent. Leaves imparipinnate; leaflets 9-27, 20-50 x 11-28 mm, ovate to ovate-lanceolate or orbicular, oblique, acute to obtuse, apex retuse, margin irregularly crenulate. Flowers white, in terminal, branched cymes. Calyx lobes 5, triangular. Petals 7 mm, linear-oblong, glandular. Ovary 2 locular, ovules 1(-2) in each locule; style short; stigma captitate. Berry ovoid, 1 x 6 mm, black when ripe.

Shrubs or trees, to 4 m tall. Leaves 17-31-foliolate; leaflet blades ovate, 2-5 × 0.5-2 cm, base obtuse to rounded and oblique, margin entire or crenulate. Inflorescences terminal, paniculate, many flowered. Flowers 5-merous, ellipsoid in bud. Sepals ovate, less than 1 mm. Petals white, oblanceolate to oblong, 5-7 mm. Stamens 10. Stigma capitate. Fruit bluish black, ovoid to oblong, 1-1.5 cm, 1- or 2-seeded. Seed coat membranous. Fl. Mar-Apr, fr. Jul-Aug.

Himalaya (Garhwal to Sikkim), India, Ceylon, Burma, Indo-China, China. Frequently cultivated.

Distribution: Along the foothills of Himalayas in India and Pakistan, Assam to Siam, China, Ceylon.

Guangdong, S Hainan, S Yunnan (Xishuangbanna) [Bhutan, India, Laos, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam].

150-1450 m

Fl. Per.: April-June. Fr. Per.: June-Aug.

Moist forests; 500-1600 m.

Bergera koenigii Linnaeus, Mant. Pl. 2: 555, 563. 1771; Chalcas koenigii (Linnaeus) Kurz.