Phyllanthus emblica L.

Trees 3-8(-23) m tall, to 50 cm d.b.h., monoecious, deciduous; bark brownish; main stems terete, sparsely lenticellate, with very reduced short shoots producing groups of leafy shoots; leafy shoots angular, tawny pubescent, at start of growing season often with poorly developed leaves and densely flowered, later with fewer flowers and better-developed leaves. Leaves distichous; stipules triangular-ovate, 0.8-1.5 mm, brown, margins entire or denticulate, ciliate; petiole 0.3-0.7 mm; leaf blade oblong or linear-oblong, 8-23 × 1.5-6 mm, papery to leathery, paler abaxially, green adaxially, drying reddish or brownish, base shallowly cordate and slightly oblique, margin narrowly revolute, apex truncate, rounded or obtuse, mucronate or retuse at tip; lateral veins 4-7 pairs. Fascicles with many male flowers and sometimes 1 or 2 larger female flowers. Male flowers: pedicels 1-2.5 mm; sepals 6, membranous, yellow, obovate or spatulate, subequal, 1.2-2.5 × 0.5-1 mm, apex obtuse or rounded, margin entire or shallowly denticulate; disk glands 6, subtriangular; stamens 3; filaments coherent into column, 0.3-0.7 mm; anthers erect, oblong, 0.5-0.9 mm, longitudinally dehiscent, apex mucronate. Female flowers: pedicels ca. 0.5 mm; sepals 6, oblong or spatulate, 1.6-2.5 × 0.7-1.3 mm, apex obtuse or rounded, thicker, margin membranous, ± lobate; ovary ovoid, ca. 1.5 mm, 3-celled; styles 3, (1-)2.5-4 mm, connate at base, deeply bifid, lobes divided at tip. Fruit a drupe, globose, 1-1.3 cm in diam., exocarp fleshy, pale green or yellowish white, endocarp crustaceous. Seeds reddish, 5-6 × 2-3 mm. Fl. Apr-Jun, fr. Jul-Sep.

A tropical plant. It suits the hot humid tropical lowlands. It is native to tropical Asia. It grows in arid bushy savannah. It grows from 10-20 m to 1400-1500 m altitude. It often grows on poor shallow soils. It is light demanding and drought tolerant. It can tolerate forest fires. They are common in tropical deciduous forest in India. It suits the subtropics. It needs warm temperatures at time of flower bud formation. Dry times during fruiting cause fruit to drop. It can tolerate low and high temperatures once established. It can tolerate soils with a pH 6-10. Some varieties can tolerate saline soils. In XTBG Yunnan. In Sichuan.

The fruit are cooked and used in preserves. The fruit are acid and can be eaten fresh or used for flavouring. They are also used as a seasoning in cooked food. They are pickled and made into jams, jellies, preserves, tarts and other foods. The dried fruit chips are seasoned with caraway seeds, salt and yoghurt and eaten. Unripe seeds and leaves are edible.

Plants are grown from seed. They are best grown using ring budding or veneer grafting. Trees can be pruned to form 4-6 branches from one trunk. They can be grown from cuttings, grafting or by air layering. Seeds are slow to germinate. They can be pre-soaked for 24 hours before planting.