Manilkara hexandra is a tree species in the tribe Sapoteae, in the family Sapotaceae. It is native to much of south Asia (China: Hainan and southern Guangxi provinces; the Indian Subcontinent: Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka; Indo-China: Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. Its vernacular names vary regionally; for example 'Palu', 'Palai'(பாலை) in Tamil or 'Rayan' (පලු) in Sinhalese. It is locally known as the Khirni tree in parts of Bangladesh and India. In the Tamil language it is called ...