Magizham is Mimusops elengi — the evergreen whose small cream flowers scent a Tamil night and a temple street. Hindi bakul is the same tree. It is not malligai, not pavazhamalli, and not a tooth powder that borrowed a shade tree. Fruit is a small edible berry some children know.
- Botanical name
- Mimusops elengi L.
- Family
- Sapotaceae
- Tamil
- Magizham
- Hindi
- Bakul
- Sanskrit
- Bakulah
- Parts used
- Flowers, Fruit, Bark in lists
- Habit
- Evergreen street tree; the article is the night-scented flower
- Last updated
- 2026-10-29
How to recognise Magizham
Linnaeus published Mimusops elengi. The family is Sapotaceae. It is a dense evergreen: glossy elliptic leaves, rusty-hairy young shoots, and clusters of small, creamy, starry, intensely scented flowers on the old wood.
The night scent and the small cream star are the public mark. A jasmine string is a different genus. An orange-tubed dawn carpet is Nyctanthes.
Tamil magizham / magizhamboo, Hindi bakul / maulsari and Sanskrit bakulah are the names. English Spanish cherry and medlar (wrongly) appear in some lists. It is not a cherry.
The small, star-shaped cream flowers keep their scent after they fall and dry.
Fruit is an ovoid orange-red berry with a sweetish pulp. Children eat it. It is not the grocery article.
Latex in a cut twig is a sapotaceae mark. It is not a kitchen milk.
Bark is dark and a little fissured. Bark powder in a tin is not a flower.
The crown is dense and oval. That shade is why cities planted it, not a second species.
Young shoots carry a rusty tomentum. That bronze fuzz is a field hint against a glossy fig of similar outline.
The tree flowers in flushes. A street that smells of magizham one week and not the next is still this species.
Seeds are polished brown and have been strung. A bead is not a flower, and a bark churna is not a dusk gathering.
Traditional use of Magizham
Temple and household
The flower is an offering and a hair scent. That ceremonial use is the honest story.
Temple and household practice
Ayurveda
Ayurvedic texts list bakula bark and flower, and the twig has served as a chewing stick. Historical headings are not a modern dental claim.
Ayurvedic headings
Modern notes on Magizham
The flower pays for scent, not for a capsule.
The practical modern issue is unnamed Sapotaceae bark in a bakul tin.
Magizham safety
Gathering flowers and eating a known ripe berry are the ordinary exposures. Do not give bark decoctions to children.
Ecology and sourcing
It is a planted avenue and temple tree. Flower harvest does not require felling. Honesty is a standing tree.
Street trees in Tamil towns are often this species next to a neem or a pungam. Shared shade is not one genus. Smell the small cream star at dusk.
Related plants
Also in Sapotaceae
Questions about Magizham
Is Magizham malligai?
No. Malligai is Jasminum sambac. Magizham is this sapotaceous street tree. Smell the small cream star.
What is the Tamil name of Mimusops elengi?
Magizham.
Can children eat the fruit of Magizham?
Ripe berries from a known tree are a children’s snack in some streets. Unripe fruit and bark are not.
Sources
- Mimusops elengi L. — Plants of the World Online, Kew (search) (accessed 2026)
- Wikidata item Q2088434 (Mimusops elengi)
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.