English Name: Dita
Hindi Name: Chhativan, Satawana
Sanskrit Name: Saptaparni, Saptahva, Saptacchada
Latin Name: Alstonia scholaris Pennell

The tree grows from 50 to 80 feet high, has a furrowed trunk, oblong stalked leaves up to 6 inches long and 4 inches wide, dispersed in seven whorls round the stem, their upper side glossy, under side white, nerves running at right angles to the mid-rib. The bark is almost odorless and very bitter, it is found in irregular fragments 1/8 to 1/2 inch thick, texture spongy, fracture coarse and short, outside layer rough uneven fissured brownish grey and sometimes blackish spots; inside layer bright buff, transverse section shows a number of small medullary rays in inner layer.