______ leaves are used to make bidis.

Correct — C. Bidis are hand-rolled in the dried leaf of the tendu tree (Diospyros melanoxylon), called kendu in Odisha.

The leaf is used because it is broad, turns pliable when moistened and holds a rolled shape without any glue.

That is also why tendu leaf is plucked commercially every summer as a forest produce, and why the keyed leaf is option (c).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Neem — Neem leaves are used medicinally and as a pest repellent, and neem twigs as datun. The leaf is small and pinnate, so it cannot wrap a roll of tobacco.
• (b)
  Betel — Betel leaf wraps paan, which is chewed rather than smoked. It is the leaf most candidates reach for first, but it is the wrong product.
• (d)
  Champa — Champa is grown for its scented flowers, used in garlands and perfumery. Its leaves have no role in bidi making.

A bidi is a small quantity of tobacco rolled inside a leaf and tied with thread, so it needs a leaf that is broad, pliable and slow to burn.

Tendu supplies exactly that. The tree grows in the dry deciduous forests of central and eastern India, and the leaves are plucked in the hot months before the monsoon.

Because plucking is seasonal and labour-heavy, tendu collection is a cash income for forest-dwelling households — which is why the leaf appears in forestry and livelihood syllabi as much as in general knowledge.

Key facts

• Bidis are wrapped in the dried leaf of the tendu tree, Diospyros melanoxylon, known as kendu in Odisha.
• Tendu leaf is a minor forest produce, plucked seasonally rather than farmed as a field crop.
• The Forest Rights Act, 2006 names tendu or kendu leaves in its definition of minor forest produce and recognises forest dwellers' right to collect and dispose of it.
• Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha are among the leading tendu leaf producing states.

Common traps

• Betel is the reflex answer because paan is the familiar Indian leaf-and-tobacco pairing, but paan is chewed and the question is about bidis.
• Kendu and tendu are the same leaf under two regional names, so a paper may print either word.

No directly related past PYQ was found.