Semecarpus anacardium L.f. Main specimen
Anacardiaceae
{ Nomenclature }

  • Botanical name : Semecarpus anacardium
  • Author :

    Linnaeus, Carl von (1753)

  • Family : Anacardiaceae
  • English names : Dhobi nut tree, marking nut tree
  • Indian names (phonetics) :

    Hindi : Bhilawan
    Kannada : Goddugeru
    Malayalam : Alakkucheru
    Marathi : Bhillava
    Sanskrit : Bhallatakah,
    Tamil : Seran kottai
    Telugu : Bhallatamu

  • Synonyms :

    Anacardium latifolium Lam.
    Anacardium longifolium Lam.
    Anacardium officinale Pritz.
    Anacardium officinarum Gaertn.
    Anacardium orientale Auct. ex Steud.
    Anacardium solitarium Stokes
    Cassuvium anacardium (L. fil.) Kuntze
    Cassuvium longifolium (Lam.) Kuntze (synonyme)
    Semecarpus latifolia Pers.
    (Source : Catalogue of Life: 28th September 2015, http://www.catalogueoflife.org/)

  • Etymology :

    - Semecarpus : From the Greek sema, semeion "a sign, a mark" and karpos "fruit", in reference to the juice of the nuts used as an ink to mark clothes or linen.
    - Anacardium : Heart-above, ana-kardia, in reference to the shape of the false-fruit of some species (especially Anacardium occidentale).