The species is found in moist forests of mountain valleys in South Asia - India, South-east Tibet and Yunnan in China, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar.

The seeds of this plant have been confused with Hydnocarpus wightianus as the chaulmoogra oil, which is used in Indian medicine to treat several skin conditions and diseases.

During British rule, several British doctors studied the use of this oil in the treatment of leprosy, lupus, scrofula, and many skin diseases.

The oil was prescribed for leprosy as a mixture suspended in gum or as an emulsion.

[5] Gynocardin is a chemical compound, classified as a cyanogenic glycoside, that was first isolated from Gynocardia odorata and characterized in 1905.