Mesua ferrea (
Ceylon ironwood,
Indian rose chestnut, or
Cobra's saffron), is a species in the
family Calophyllaceae. This slow-growing tree is named after the heaviness and hardness of its
timber. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental due to its graceful shape, grayish-green
foliage with a beautiful pink to red flush of drooping young leaves, and large, fragrant white flowers. It is native to wet, tropical parts of
Sri Lanka,
India, southern
Nepal,
Burma,
Thailand,
Indochina, the
Philippines,
Malaysia and
Sumatra, where it grows in evergreen forests, especially in river valleys. In the eastern Himalayas and Western Ghats in India it grows up to altitudes of 1500 meters, while in Sri Lanka up to 1000 meters.