| Life form | Tree, Shrub |
| Family | Dillingen – Dilleniaceae |
| Origin and distribution | Homeland dellenii – tropical forests of China, Southeast Asia, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Madagascar. Named after the English botanist Johann Jakob Dillenius. About 100 species are known. Dillenia suffruticosa is a national flower of Brunei. |
| Ease of cultivation | Average |
| The size | At home, up to 1.5 m, in nature – up to 15-30 m. |
| Growth rate | Average |
| Lifespan | Perennial plant, up to 50 years and over. |
| Temperature | It tolerates a wide temperature range from +44,6 to + 116,6 ° F. In summer, a temperature of + 77-86 ° F is desirable at high humidity, in winter it can tolerate a temperature drop of 28,4 ° F, but very shortly. |
| Humidity | Prefers high humidity, but can adapt to room conditions. |
| Lighting | Bright light is preferred, but the plant adapts to partial shade. |
| The soil | A fertile, rather loose substrate is needed based on sand, pH in the range of 5.5-7. Poorly tolerates alkaline substrates. |
| Watering | Requires abundant watering in the summer. In winter, if the contents are in cool conditions, watering should be rare. |
| How to fertilize | It is necessary to use complex fertilizer in the period of growth and top dressing for beautiful flowering plants during the flowering period. |
| Reproduction | Propagate by seeds, which are pre-soaked and planted in a mixture of peat and sand. Sprouted under the film at an elevated temperature of + 77-82,4 ° F. Cuttings reproduce quite difficult. |
| Bloom | Blossoms, mainly in summer, but the flowering period can continue from early spring to autumn. Large flowers with a diameter of up to 15 cm have a very pleasant smell, blossom at night and fall by the middle of the day. The first flowering occurs at the age of 3-4 years.Interesting are very large fruits, reminiscent of apples and consisting of carpels and overgrown sepals. |
| Transplant and care | Young plants are transplanted annually, adults every 2-3 years. |
| Difficulties | Steady enough |
| Beneficial features | It finds very wide application. The fruits of the Indian dillenia (Dillenia indica) have high nutritional value and are consumed in tropical countries, taste like unripe apples, they get juice, prepare jam and add to many Indian dishes. On the island of Sri Lanka, ice cream is made from fruits. In Thailand, when cooking certain dishes, shoots and even leaves are used. In Malaysia, they wrap food. The wood that has been lying about 3 years in water is used in construction. Also, fruits are sometimes used to get soap. Eight types of dllenia are widely used in folk medicine, extract of leaves and roots are treated with dandruff. The bark has analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. Recently, the possibility of using a plant in traditional medicine has also been studied. At present, India raises the question of the need to introduce this plant in agricultural production. Local people believe that the elephants are very fond of fruits, so the plant received its second name “elephant apple”. |
| Toxicity | Not poisonous |
