Mahua tree, Illipe butter, Illipe nut
Madhuca indica

Family: Sapotaceae

What it is like

A medium sized tree. It loses its leaves during the year. It grows up to 15 m high. The trunk is short. There are many branches forming a tick leafy layer. The bark is dark coloured and cracked. The bark and branches have milky sap. The leaves are clustered near the ends of branches. They are leathery. They are oval and are hairy when young. They are 10-20 cm long by 5-13 cm wide. They are coppery brown when young. The flowers hang in clusters at the ends of branches. The petals of the flower are creamy, fleshy and sweet and edible. The fruit are oval berries. They are fleshy. They are densely rusty. They are 4-5 cm across. There are 1-4 seeds.

The seeds contain 30% edible oil.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. Trees are common throughout the Indian plains.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, India, Nepal, Northeastern India

How it is used for food

The mature corolla of the flowers are sweet and eaten raw or cooked. The seeds yield an oil which is edible after refining. The flowers are rich in sugars used for preparation of distilled liqueurs and vinegar. The flowers are dried and eaten raw or cooked. The fresh flowers can be stored for 2-3 days. Both the ripe and unripe fruit are eaten.

It is a cultivated food plant.

Edible parts

Fruit, flowers, seeds

How it is grown

Plants can be grown from seed. Fresh seed should be used.

A good tree can produce 200 kg of petals per year.

Its other names

Local names

Elupa, Hippe, Illippa, Illupei, Ilupa, Ippa, Ippa pokalu, Madgi, Mahua, Mahuda, Mahula, Mahuwa, Mahwa, Maul, Mauwa, Moa tree, Moha, Mohua, Mohwra, Mow, Mowra, Poonam

Synonyms

Bassia latifolia Roxb.; Madhuca latifolia (Roxb.) Macb.; Madhuca longifolia (J. Koem.) MacBr.;