India GO
Tree · Terminalia elliptica
Matti (crocodile bark tree)
साज (saj)
IUCN LC · Least concern
A large deciduous hardwood of the Western Ghats whose grey bark is cracked into deep rectangles like crocodile skin.
👀 How to recognise it
The bark pattern is the identification and is visible from a moving vehicle. Big leathery leaves turn red before falling in the dry season.
Where to see it
Goa
The state tree of Goa, called matti in Konkani. Its grey bark is cracked into deep rectangles like crocodile skin, which is how it is recognised from a moving car on the Ghat roads.
Chorla Ghat · Dudhsagar Falls · Sahakari Spice Farm (often)