Strychnos patatorum, Linn. F
Family : Lgoniaceae
Common Name : Cleaning-nut tree
Telugu Name : Chilla

General :

It is fairly common throughout Andhra Pradesh. Identified by fluted branches, black or brownish corky bark and shining leaves. It is a shade bearer and drought resistant. It coppices well and produces suckers.

Flowering :

The small whitish fragrant flowers in axillary cymes appear from February to May.
Fruiting :
The green globose fruits ripen October to March.
Morphology of the Fruit / Seed :
Fruit berry, green in colour but black when ripe, globose, 1.3 to 2 cms in dia., seeds present in a whitish pulp, bluntly lenticular, not much compressed, shining with short adpressed silky hairs, yellow in colour.
Seed Collection and Storage :
Seeds are collected from February to March. The pulp is washed off to obtain the seeds. Seeds can be stored for one year.
Seed Biology :
No. of seeds per Kg.
Germination percentage
Plant percent
Time taken for germination in days
No. of seedlings per Kg. of seed
1660
10
10
45 to 60
166
Pretreatment :
Mild boiled water treatment and soaking in water for 48 hours.
Nursery Technique :

Seeds are put in the polybags in April and continuously watered. After 45 days, the shoot comes up with the cotyledons just like a round cap. The root growth is very fast compared to the shoot growth and so a longer polythene bag is required for raising the seedlings.