Kabba mara – Ceylon oak

Kabba mara (Careya arborea) one of the native trees in kodagu is a deciduous tree that grows up to 15m-45 ft high. Its leaves turn red in the cold season. Flowers are yellow or white in colour that become large green berries. The tree grows throughout India in forests and grasslands.

Kodava

Kabba mara

English

Ceylon oak

Kannada

Gawlu, Kavulu mara, Gobbala kayi

Botanical Name

Careya arborea Roxb.

Family

LECYTHIDACEAE

Flowering starts

February

Fruiting ends

June

Uses

The fruit is edible but the seeds are reported as slightly poisonous. The fibrous bark contains a brown dye. The wood is used, mainly in India and Burma (Myanmar) for general construction (house posts, planking), furniture and cabinet work, carts, mouldings, turnery, piling and agricultural implements. The fibrous bark can be applied medicinally for body swellings and is used locally for cordage.