The
curry tree (
Sinhala: කරපිංචා,
Tamil:கறி (
curry)வேர்ப்பிள்ளை,
Kannada:ಕರಿಬೇವು
Telugu:కరివేపాకు Malayalam: കറിവേപ്പില) (Murraya koenigii;
syn. Bergera koenigii, Chalcas koenigii) is a
tropical to
sub-tropical tree in the family
Rutaceae, which is native to
India. The name itself in
Tamil is pronounced as 'kariveppilai' ( kari-curry, veppu- neem and ilai-leaf ) which is the literal translation of curry leaves. The
Tamil name means "leaf that is used to make curry" and it is present in almost all the dishes of
Tamil nadu (a state in south India) in addition to coriander leaves. Often used in curries, the leaves generally go by the name "curry leaves", though they are also called "sweet neem leaves." It is an unavoidable content of curries in
South India, where without curry leaves, curry seems to be tasteless. The
Kannada name means "black neem", since the appearance of the leaves is similar to the unrelated bitter
neem tree. Curry leaves are also entirely unrelated to
bay leaves and
basil leaves, which are aromatic leaves from the Mediterranean.