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Terminalia chebula
Also called Black Myrobalan, Chebulic Myrobalan, King Of Medicine
Terminalia chebula is a medium to large deciduous tree from South and Southeast Asia, grown for its small dark fruits used in Ayurvedic medicine and food. It needs a warm, frost-free climate and a sunny spot.
Terminalia chebula, commonly known as black- or chebulic myrobalan, is a species of Terminalia, native to South Asia from India, Pakistan and Nepal east to southwest China (Yunnan), and south to Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Vietnam. It is also known as "Haritaki".
This tree yields smallish, ribbed and nut-like fruits which are picked when still green and then pickled, boiled with a little added sugar in their own syrup or used in preserves. The seed of the fruit, which has an elliptical shape, is an abrasive seed enveloped by a fleshy and firm pulp. Seven types of fruit are recognized (vijaya, rohini, putana, amrita, abhaya, jivanti, and chetaki), based on the region where the fruit is harvested, as well as the colour and shape of the fruit. Generally speaking, the vijaya variety is preferred, which is traditionally grown in the Vindhya Range of west-central India, and has a roundish as opposed to a more angular shape. The fruit also provides material for tanning leather and dyeing cloth.
Terminalia chebula (called Haritaki) is a main ingredient in the Ayurvedic formulation of triphala.
Terminalia chebula Is found throughout southern and southeast Asia including in India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and Thailand. In China, it is native in western Yunnan and cultivated in Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi (Nanning), and Taiwan (Nantou).
Arjun · Terminalia australis · Myrobalan · Black Olive · Terminalia calamansanai · Tropical-almond · Terminalia dhofarica · Indian Laurel · Kakadu Plum · Ivory Coast almond · Terminalia macroptera · Terminalia mantaly
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Terminalia chebula by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
