What is mahua? The Indian forest tree behind sweets, drinks and more

If trees had résumés, mahua would have quite the impressive one. Its flowers can be eaten, dried, turned into sweets and fermented into a traditional alcoholic drink; its seeds yield oil; and the tree has long been part of food systems, traditional medicine and seasonal livelihoods. Known scientifically as Madhuca longifolia, mahua is a large deciduous tree found across much of central, eastern and southern India.

It grows across states including Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, among others. While its uses vary between communities, mahua has a particularly deep association with Indigenous and forest-dwelling communities.

Why mahua matters to Indigenous communities, wildlife and forest economies across India 

The flowers are naturally sweet and collected after they fall from the tree. They can be eaten fresh or dried, used in food and fermented to make mahua liquor. Its seeds are pressed for oil, while different parts of the tree have also been used in traditional medicine. Mahua flowers are mentioned in the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India, although many traditional medicinal claims have not been clinically established. Both flowers and seeds are recognised as minor forest produce, making mahua an important source of forest-based income.

For several Indigenous communities, mahua means much more than food or drink. The tree has religious and ritual significance among communities including the Gonds and Halbas, who use its flowers and drink in festivals and ceremonies connected to ancestors, deities, marriage and other important occasions. Its cultural history stretches back further, too: Madhūka, the Sanskrit name associated with mahua, appears in ancient Indian textual traditions, including Ayurvedic literature.

And humans are certainly not the only ones interested in mahua. Its sweet flowers and fruit attract wildlife including sloth bears, elephants, deer and langurs. Because the sugary flowers can ferment, their alcoholic properties can even intoxicate sloth bears and elephants when the animals consume fermented mahua.

Madhya Pradesh is particularly closely associated with the tree. The state Forest Department describes mahua as one of Central India’s most important trees, linking it to food, medicine, seasonal income and local liquor production. Its importance, however, extends across state borders, with mahua supporting forest-based livelihoods and traditional economies in several parts of India.

Email: anoushkakundu@newindianexpress.com

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