Tendu, Diospyros melanoxylon, is the tree whose leaves wrap India’s beedis. Collecting and selling tendu leaves is a major seasonal income for millions of forest dwellers in central India, and state agencies regulate the trade. The tree is also an ebony relative with dark heartwood, and its ripe fruit is eaten locally.
- Botanical name
- Diospyros melanoxylon Roxb.
- Family
- Ebenaceae
- Tamil
- Karunthuvarei
- Hindi
- Tendu
- Parts used
- Leaf (wrapper), Fruit (after a cook in some kitchens)
- Habit
- Beedi-leaf ebony; gab is D. malabarica
- Last updated
- 2026-10-25
How to recognise Tendu
It is a medium-sized deciduous tree with thick, leathery, oval leaves, often hairy beneath. The leaves are stiff enough to be rolled around tobacco without tearing.
Bark is dark grey to black and cracks into rectangular plates.
The fruit is round, yellow to orange when ripe, with a persistent calyx at the base like a small persimmon, a close relative. Ripe fruit is sweet and slightly astringent.
Gab, Diospyros malabarica, grows in wetter places and has glossy leaves and sticky fruit.
Traditional use of Tendu
Leaf trade
Leaves are plucked in April and May, dried, bundled and sold through state-run collection centres in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Maharashtra and other states.
Central Indian forest economy
Food
Ripe fruit is gathered and eaten fresh in forest villages.
Central Indian food practice
Modern notes on Tendu
Beedis are smoked tobacco and carry the full health risks of smoking, including cancers and heart and lung disease. The leaf wrapper does not make them safer than cigarettes.
Forest-rights researchers study the tendu trade as one of India’s largest forest-based livelihoods.
Tendu safety
The ripe fruit is a local food. The leaves are a tobacco product wrapper, so the health concern is the smoking.
Ecology and sourcing
It is a common tree of dry deciduous forests in central and peninsular India.
Forest departments prune and burn tendu bushes before the season to encourage fresh leaf growth. Repeated fires harm the wider forest.
Related plants
Also in Ebenaceae
Questions about Tendu
Is Tendu true ebony?
It is a relative. True ebony is Diospyros ebenum.
Can you eat the fruit of Tendu?
Yes, when fully ripe. It is a seasonal forest fruit.
What is the Hindi name of Diospyros melanoxylon?
Tendu.
Sources
- Diospyros melanoxylon Roxb. — Plants of the World Online, Kew (search) (accessed 2026)
- Wikidata item Q2672321 (Diospyros melanoxylon)
Educational page about a plant. It is not medical advice, not a diagnosis, and not an offer to sell. Traditional use is historical. If you need care, ask a licensed clinician. Questions: hello@meevamed.com.