| Click on the links for images | names (local, scientific) of the trees, medicinal uses etc. |
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Muchkunda |
Muchkunda, Pterospermum acerifolium. Grows upto 50 - 70 ft. Has large fragrant white flowers. Fruit is a reddish wood used for planking. An Indian postal stamp was issued to honour the flower. |
| Bottlebrush | Bottlebrush, Callistemon citrinus. Most commonly found in Australia. Grows upto 20 - 30 ft. Flowers are crimson red. For more, read this article from horticulture department, University of Florida. |
| Swarna-champa | Champak, Magnolia champaca. Evergreen, native to South, Southeast Asia. Has strongly fragrant yellow or white flowers. Leaves, flowers and seed are used for essential oils. Check out here for more. |
| Rudraksha | Rudraksha, Elaeocarpus ganitrus. Evergreen. Seeds are traditionally used for prayer beeds in Hinduism. Ethanol extract of the fruit exibit sedative, hypnotic, tranquillizing, anticonvulsive, antipileptic and antihypertensive properties. |
| Saptaparni | Saptaparni, Alstonia scholaris. Can be about 150 ft. Native to Indian subcontinent. The bark serves as an alternative to quinine and also used for the treatmeant of dysentry. The milky juice is used to treat ulcers. More can be found here. |
| Bokul | Bokul, Mimusops elengi. Evergreen 30-60 ft tree is native to Southeast
Asia. Small flowers are cream and scented. The ripe edible fruit pounded and mixed with water is given to promote delivery of childbirth. It is also used in dental ailments like bleeding gum's, pyorrhea, dental caries and loose teeth. Wood is very hard and deep red in colour. |
| Kadam | Kadam, Neolamarckia cadamba. Evergreen, native to southeast Asia. Grows about 150 ft. Flowers are yellow and white. Bark and leaves have medicinal use such as astringent anti-hepatotoxic, antidiuretic, wound healing, antiseptic, and anthelmintic. For more see here. This is the state tree of Orissa. An Indian postal stamp was issued to honour this tree. |
| Palash | Palash, Butea monosperma. Native to Southeast Asia. Grows to about 50 ft. Flowers are bright orange-red. They are used to prepare a traditional Holi colour. Flowers are also used as a dyeing color for fabric. |
| Siris | Siris, Albizia lebbeck. Native to southeast Asia. Grows about 100 ft. Flowers are fragrant, white with many stamens. Fruit is a linear pod of about 1 ft with many seeds. The tree is used in folk remedies for abdominal tumours, boils, cough, eye ailments, flu and lung ailments. It is also reported to be astringent, pectoral, rejuvenant and tonic. The seed oil is used for leprosy and the powdered seed in scrofulous swellings. Indians use the flowers for spermatorrhea. For more, we refer to this article. |
| Polanga | Polanga, Calophyllum inophyllum. Evergreen. Native to costal India, East Africa, Australia. Flowers come in paniculate inflorescences. Polanga oil is used as biodiesel. See this article in the journal Fuel. |
| Asana | Asana, Terminalia elliptica. Can grow upto 100 ft. Native to Southeast Asia. Some member of the specis store water (in stem) in dry season. |
| Mohula | Mohula (Mahua), Madhuca longifolia. Indian tropical tree. Grows about 60-70 ft. Flowers of this evergreen tree are edible and also fomented to produce alcoholic drinks. Mahula oil has emollient properties and is used in skin disease. |
| Arjuna | Arjuna, Terminalia arjuna, this shallowly rooted tree grows upto 80 ft, Oblong, conical leaves, pale yellow flowers and fibrous woody fruits. Flowering occurs in summer. Arjuna is one of the species whose leaves are fed on by the Antheraea paphia moth which produces the tassar silk. |
| Amlaki | Amlaki (Amla), Phyllanthus emblica. Medicinal plant Grows 70-80 ft. Fruit has a high tannin content. |
| Tetuli | Tetuli (Tamarind), Tamarindus indica. Tropical tree, native to Africa. Fruit pulp is edible and popular. Fuits have several medicinal use. They are refrigerants in fever, work as laxatives and carminative. Used also for bile disorders, as an antiscorbutic and as a liniment for rheumatism. |
| Amra | Amra, Spondias dulcis. Grows 100-150 ft. The fruit can be eaten raw, the flesh is crunchy and a little sour. |
| Chandan | Chandan (White sandalwood), Santalum album. Relatively small tropical tree grows upto 20 feet. The leaves are thin, opposite and ovate to lanceolate in shape. Timbers, used for fine woodworking, have fragrance. Wood and sandal-oil have high demand and are an important trade item in India. |
| Rakta Chandan | Rakta Chandan (Red sandalwood), Pterocarpus santalinus. Native to India. This deciduous tree grows upto 30-40 ft. The tree is renowned for its characteristic timber of exquisite colour, beauty. A decoction of the fruit is used as an astringent tonic in chronic dysentry. An infusion of the wood is used in the control of diabetes. |
| Nagalingam | Nagalingam, Couroupita guianensis. Evergreen. Common in Amazon basin. Fruits and fragrant flowers grow from stalks which sprout from the trunk of the tree. |
| Krishnachura | Krishnachura, Delonix regia. Grown as an
ornamental tree. Flowers are red/orange/yellow. Grows 20-30 ft. |
| Radhachura | Radhachura, Peltophorum pterocarpum. Grows upto 80 ft. Semi- evergreen. Native to tropical southeast Asia. Feathery leaflets. Yellow flower clusters are followed by seed pods. Antimicrobial activity of Radhachura has been discussed here. |
| Panasa | Panasa (Jackfruit), Artocarpus heterophyllus. Native to Southeast Asia. Its fruit is the largest tree borne fruit in the world. |
| Breadfruit | Breadfruit, Artocarpus communis. Tall, fast growing, evergreen, 40 - 60 ft height. Large, incised glossy green leaves. Barks are used for stomach pain, diarrhea. Leaf is used for Diabetic treatment. |
| Semul | Semul, Bombax ceiba. Tropical Tree. Height 80 - 100 ft. Large leaves. Red flowers appear when the tree is bare of leaves. Cotton inside the fruits are commercially used. |
| Sunari | Sunari (Amlatas), Cassia fistula. Height upto 50 ft. Semi-evergreen tree found in South, Southeast Asia. Flowers are bright yelllow. Fruit is 1 - 1.5 ft long and thin. Its pungent odour is mosquito repellent. Contains several seeds. |
| Brownea | Scarlet flame bean, Brownea coccinea. Native to Guyana, Venezuela, Brazil. Red exotic looking flowers are not visible from outside. |
| Neem | Neem, Azadirachta indica. This evergreen tree grows 100 - 130 ft. Has white fragrant flowers. Neem is anthelmintic, antifungal, antidiabetic, antibacterial, antiviral, sedative and also used for antifertility. |
| Kaju | Kaju (Cashew), Anacardium occidentale. Evergreen, growing upto 30 ft. What appears to be the fruit of cashew tree is a pear shaped accessory fruit (or false fruit). The actual fruit of the tree is a kidney shaped drupe that grows at the end of the false fruit. Within the true fruit is a single seed, the cashew nut. |
| Nageswar | Nageswar, Mesua ferrea. Evergreen ornamental tree. Grows upto 40 ft. Fragrant white flowers. National tree of Sri lanka. Wood is used for railroad ties due to heaviness and hardness of its timber. The leaves are applied to the head in the form of a poultice for severe colds. Oil from the seeds is used for sores, scabies wounds and rheumatism. |
| Jarul | Jarul, Lagerstroemia speciosa. Tropical flowering tree, grows upto 50 ft. An Indian postal stamp was issued to honour this flower. |
| Barh | Barh (Banyan), Ficus bengalensis. National tree of India. Sends down shoots from branches, eventually turning into new trunks. An Indian postal stamp was issued to honour this tree. |
| Mast | Mast tree, Polyalthia longifolia. Native to India and Sri Lanka. Commonly planted next to the road due to its effectiveness in alleviating noise pollution. Grows 30 - 40 ft. Star-like pale green flowers. Small fruits come in clusters. |
Raktarag | Raktarag (Geiger tree), Cordia sebestena. Evergreen tree, grows to 25 ft. Native to South America. Large scarlet flowers, pear shaped fruits with fragrance. Fruits are edible but not very tastful. |
Pia-sal | Piya-sal, Pterocarpus marsupium. Deciduous tree grows up to 100 ft tall. Found in India, Nepal and Srilanka. Similipal Kol tribes in Orissa, pound a paste mixure of the bark of pia-sal with the barks of Mango, Sal and Amra to treat some dysentery illnesses. |
| Dimbeeri | Dimbeeri (Common fig), Ficus carica. Small tree, grows about 30
ft. Native to southwest Asia. Existing literaute suggests that this edible fig is one of the first plants that were cultivated by humans. |
| Gua | Gua (Supari), Areca catechu. A species of palm which grows in much of the tropical Pacific, Asia. Grows straight upto 70 - 80 ft. Chewing areca nut is quite popular in India. The nut itself can be addictive and has direct link to mouth cancers. |
| Pijuli | Pijuli (Guava), Psidium guajava. Fruits are edible and common in most tropical and sub-tropical locations around the world. Grows up to 20 -30 ft high. Roots are shallow, bark smooth, light reddish-brown. |
| Putranjiva | Putranjiva, Drypetes Roxburghii. Evergreen, reaches upto 60 ft. Leaves are simple, alternate, dark green. Small male and female flowers are distinct. Fruits are ellipsoids or rounded drupes. Leaves are refrigerent and procreant. |
| Acacia | Acacia, Acacia Auriculiformis. This fast growing tree can reach upto 100 ft.Acacias were purposely introduced and planted in Southeast Asia as a source of firewood and good quality charcoal. It does not smoke. |
| Kath-champa | Kath-champa, Plumeria obtusa. This ornamental evergreen grows upto 20 ft. Native to southeastern Asia. Big leaves, creamy white flowers with yellow center. The flowers have no nectar, and simply dupe their pollinators.The moths inadvertently pollinate them by transferring pollen from flower to flower in their fruitless search for nectar. |
Mora-chui | Mora-chui (East Indian screw tree), Helicteres isora. Small tree grows about 10 - 15 ft. Red flowers come in sparse clusters. Fruits greenish brown, beaked, cylindrical, spirally twisted. The juice of the root has the potential for use in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. See here. |
Araucaria |
Araucaria cookii, Araucaria columnaris. Very tall evergreen ornamental pine tree with columnar growth pattern. Tortuous stem and green branches of 3-5 ft length. |
| Nijhira |
Nijhira (Hijal), Barringtonia acutangula. Native to costal wetlands in southern Asia. The fruit of this medium sized tree, known as Samudra-falla, has wide medicinal use. These are bitter in taste and are known to be beneficial for fistulae, inflamatory tumers. The leaf juice possesses demulcent, laxative and diuretic properties. |
| Indrajao |
Sweet Indrajao, Wrightia tinctoria. is a small and beautiful deciduous tree that grows up to 10 meters. Its leaves are opposite, up to 8-15 cm long and lanceolate. Bark ivory colored. Flowers are usually seen in the tip of branches, scattered in the inflorescence and whitish and with fragrance. Fruits are long follicles with adhered tips and long up to 50 cm. Seeds are 1-2 cm long. |
| Kerendo Kuli |
Kerendo Kuli (Karamcha), Carissa carandus. Medium sized, wild, thorny Asian shrub. Greenish white bark on young shoots. Leaves are ovate and opposite. Old leaves keep shedding through out the year. Flowers are white and scented. Fruit is a globose berry, sweet, sightly acidic when ripe. |
| Bel |
Bel, Aegle marmelos. Cultivated throughout India, this tree grows about 60 - 70 ft. Greenish white bisexual flowers and woody skinned smooth fruits. The juice of the fruit is stained and sweetend to make drinks. Every parts of the tree are used for medecinal purposes. Leaves are astringent, laxative and useful in the treatment of ophthalmia, deafness, inflamations, cataract, diabetes. |
| Teja Patra | Teja patra (Bey leaf), Cinnamomum tamala. This evergreen tree grows upto 30 ft. The leaves, that give out an aromatic delicate fragrance, are used in Indian cookery. Leaves are also used to treat colic and diarrhea. |
| Tagar | Tagar (Crape Jasmine), Tabernaemontana divaricata. Very common shrub in India grows upto 10 ft. Horizontal branches having appearence of an attractive, almost horizontal shrub (divaricata means obtuse angle). White flowers come in clusters. Traditionally, the plant is used for fever, pain and dysentry. See here for more. |
| Sausage Tree | Sausage Tree, Kigelia africana. The tree is evergreen where rainfall occurs throughout the year, but deciduous where there is a long dry season. The flowers hang down from branches on long flexible stems. The fruit is a woody berry from 1 - 2 ft long and upto half ft diameter; it weighs between 5 - 8 kg, and hang down on long, rope-like peduncles. The fresh fruit is poisonous and strongly purgative. |
| Rakta Kanchana | Rakta Kanchana, Bauhinia purpurea. This deciduous tree, native to southeastern Asia, grows up to 50 ft. Leaves are broad, rounded and bilobed. Flowers, purple to nearly white, are fragrant. Seed pots are usually 12 inch long slender and brown in colour and persists on the tree throughout winter. The name comes from the Bauhin brothers Jean and Gaspard, Swiss botanists. The two lobes of the leaf apperently exemplify the two brothers. For more on this tree check out here. |
| Kodoli | Kodoli (Banana), Musa paradisiaca. Grows upto 10 -20 ft. Every part of this plant is used in India. Being rich in iron, the fruits stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood, thus helping in cases of anemia. Because of its high potassium, but low salt content, it is indicated for those having problems with arterial pressure. |
| Amruta-bhanda | Amruta-bhanda (Papaya), Carica papaya. It is a large tree-like
plant, the single stem growing from 15 - 20 ft tall, with spirally arranged leaves confined to the top of the trunk; the lower trunk is conspicuously scarred where leaves and edible fruit were borne. Papain, present in papaya, is popular as a topical application in the treatment of cuts, rashes, stings and burns. Papain ointment is commonly made from fermented papaya flesh, and is applied as a gel-like paste. Papain's ability to break down tough meat fibers was utilized for thousands of years by indigenous Americans. |
| Salia bans | Salia bans, Dendrocalamus strictus. These deciduous, sub-arborescent, densely tufted bamboos are most commonly found in India. Grows in dry or semi-dry areas. Extensively used for paper pulping. Tender shoots are commonly used as food items. |
| Aachu | Aachu (Indian mulberry), Morinda citrifolia. Native to Southeast Asia. This evergreen tree grows 20 - 30 ft. Leaves are opposite, pinnately veined and glossy. Flowers are perfect with about 75-90 in ovoid to globose heads. Fruits have uniques disagreeable odor when ripe. Leaves are used for treatment for malaria, decoctions of stem bark are used for Jaundice. Check here for more. |
| Casuarina | Casuarina, Casuarina equisetifolia. This evergreen tree, native to
Southeast Asia, grows upto 100 ft. The flowers are produced in small catkin-like inflorescences; the male flowers in simple spikes, the female flowers on short peduncles. The fruit is an oval woody structure made up of numerous carpels each containing a single seed with a small wing. This tree is also commonly known as Whistling Pine. |
| Ouu | Ouu (Chalta), Dillenia indica. This evergreen tree grows
upto 40-50 ft. Native to Southeast Asia. Leaves are long with impressed veins. The flowers are large with five white petals and many yellow stamens. Large greenish yellow fruits have many seeds and are edible. The fruit pulp is used in Indian Cuisine. |
| Rubber Tree | Rubber Tree, Ficus elastica. It belongs to the fig family. Native to India and grows upto 100 ft. Its spreading branches are held up by aerial roots which become multiple trunks. The shiny oval leaves develop inside a reddish sheath at the tip of the branches. The rubber tree's white sticky sap is toxic. |
| Kamranga | Kamranga (Kamrakh), Averrhoa carambola. Evergreen, grows upto 30 ft. Native to India.The flowers are small and bell-shaped, with five petals that have whitish edges. The edible fruits have a thin, waxy skin. When ripe, these have orange-yellow colour. |
| Chandaprava | Chandaprava (Yellow Bell), Tecoma stans. This ornamental tree grows upto 15ft. It has sharply-toothed, lance-shaped green leaves and bears large, showy, clustered, bright golden yellow trumpet-shaped flowers. The plant produces pods containing yellow seeds with papery wings. |
| Ashoka | Ashoka, Saraca indica. This is an evergreen tree with deep green
leaves growing in clusters. Flowers, orange in colour, come in branches and turn red before wilting. As a wild tree, Ashoka is a vulnerable species and becoming rarer in natural habitat. The bark of the tree possess stimulating effect of endometrium and ovarian tissue.The Ashoka tree is considered sacred throughout the Indian subcontinent, especially in India and Sri Lanka. This tree has many folklorical, religious and literary associations in the region. The Ashoka tree has a symbolic importance in Buddhism. Queen Maya of Sakya is said to have given birth to the Buddha under an Ashoka tree in a garden in Lumbini. |
| Aakash-malli | Aakash-malli, Millingtonia hortensis. Commonly known in India as Cork tree, this tall deciduous tree grows up to 80 feet. Its fragrant flowers are white, long and tubular. Stem and roots of the Cork tree are believed to have medicinal value. Its dried flower is a good lung tonic. It is also used in cough diseases. Its bark produces yellow dye. Bark is used as a substitute for the true cork. |
| Black Wattle |
Black Wattle, Acacia mangium. Native to northeastern Queensland in Australia, this fast growing tree reaches up to 90 feet. It is used for fire and furniture making. Like many other legumes, it is able to fix nitrogen in the soil. |
| Rudra-palasa |
Rudra-palasa, Spathodea campanulata. Being native to Africa, this fast growing tree is also known as African tulip. It has glossy deep green pinnate leaves and orange flowers. The wood is diffuclt to burn, hence it is valuable for fire resistant landscaping. The flower bud is ampule-shaped and contains water. These buds are often used by children who play with its ability to squirt the water. |
| Kuli |
Kuli (ber), Ziziphus zizyphus. This small deciduous tree, commonly found in southern Asia, grows upto 30 ft. Thorny braches have shiny green, ovate-acute leaves with finely toothed margin. The flowers are small with yellowish-green petals. The fruit is edible. The tree tolerates a wide range of temperatures and rainfall. The fruits are used in Chinese and Korean traditional medicine, where they are believed to alleviate stress. |
| Kagoj-phula |
Kagaj-phula (paper flower), Bougainvillea glabra. These flowering plants are native to South America from Brazil west to Peru and south to southern Argentina. They are evergreen where rainfall occurs all year, or deciduous if there is a dry season. Bougainvillea is the most common species used for bonsai. Tiny white flowers usually appear in clusters surrounded by colorful papery bracts, hence the name paper flower. |
| Saranga |
Saranga, Gliricidia sepium. This flowering, deciduous tree is native to South America. Grows upto 30 ft. Leaves are opposite, oblong-ovate, each having a pointed tip. Flowers are pink and about half inch long. Flowering time is February-March. When used as mulch or green manure, the nitrogen-rich foliage improves crop production through the addition of nutrients, weed control, conservation of moisture and reduction of soil temperature. More on Gliricidia can be found in this Cornell University site. |
| Amba |
Amba, Mangifera indica (mango). This a member of the family
Anacardiaceae
- nottrious for embracing a number of highly poisonous plants! This evergreen tree grows upto 100ft. The fruits are the national fruit of India. It finds mention in the songs of 4th century AD Sanskrit poet, Kalidasa, prior to it is believed to have been tasted by Alexander (3rd century BC) and Chinese pilgrim, Hieun Tsang (7th century CE). Later in 16th century Mughal Emperor, Akbar planted 100,000 mango trees in Darbhanga, Bihar at a place now known as Lakhi Bagh. |
| Sunaapaani |
Sunaapaani (kolke), Thevetia peruviana. It is an evergreen small tree with yellow or orange-yellow trumpet shaped flower.It contains a milky sap containing a compound called thevetin that is used as a heart stimulant but in its natural form is extremely poisonous, as are all parts of the plants, especially the seeds. Its leaves are long, lance shaped and green in colour. Leaves are covered in waxy coating to reduce water loss. |
| Madhumalati |
Madhumalati, Quisqualis indica. This creeper with red, pink, white fragrent flowers are common in India. Fruits are ellipsoidal with five wings. The plant is used for traditional medicine. Decoctions of the root, seed or fruit can be used as antihelmintic or for alleviating diarrhea. Fruit decoction can also be used for gargling. The fruits are also used to combat nephritis. Leaves can be used to relieve pain caused by fever. The roots are used to treat rheumatism. |
| Kaincha |
Kaincha (Gunja), Abrus precatorius. It is slender, perennial climber that twines around trees, shrubs, and hedges. It is a legume with long, pinnate-leafleted leaves. Seed, red with black eye, was used to measure 0.12125 grams of a traditional unit, mostly used by jewellers and ayurved doctors. Seeds are highly poisonous when cracked, a single one if swallowed can be fatal. It contains Abrin. Abrin can kill a person with a circulating amount of less than 3 micorgram. |
| Jam |
Jam, Syzygium cumini. This evergreen tree grows upto 100 ft.It is native to India, Pakistan and Indonesia. It is also widely cultivated in southern and southeastern Asia including the Philippines, Myanmar, and Afghanistan. Leaves are elliptic oblong or broadly ovate, and are extremely shiny. Jam tree flowers from March to April. The flowers are fragrant and small. The fruits develop by May or June and are very much like large berries in appearance. The fruit is oblong, ovoid, and green in the initial days, but turns to a crimson black as it matures. The fruit has a sweet, mildly sour and astringent flavour and lends a purple tinge to the tongue when eaten. Jam is a rich source of vitamin A and vitamin C. The dried alcoholic extracts of the seeds of the fruit given to diabetic patients on a regular basis showed a reduction in the level of their blood sugar and glycosuria. |
| Jamrul |
Jamrul, Syzygium samarangense. This evergreen tree grows up to 40 ft. Has
opposite elliptic to elliptic-oblong leaves and are found in Fiji, India, Indonesia, Malaysia. Tree is grown for their fruit, which is white or red in colour and eaten fresh. Various parts of the tree are used in traditional medicine and has been shown to posses antibiotic activity. See here for details. |
| Ficus |
Ficus (Weeping Fig), Ficus benjamina. Native to south and southeast Asia, this varity of ficus grows up to 100 ft in natural conditions. With glossy leaves and drooping branches, it is also a very popular house plant. Its roots are highly invasive. Fruits are red in colour and fovourite for some birds. The one shown here was found unusually big. Besides ornamental value of this tree, it is good for soil conservation. Other uses of this tree can be found at this site. |
| Nodiya |
Nodiya, Cocos nucifera. Native to costal areas of Southeast Asia. In prehistoric times, wild forms are believed to have been carried eastward on ocean currents to the tropical Pacific islands and westward to coastal India, Srilanka. Trees can grow upto 70 ft. A year-round warm and humid climate favours the growth of the the tree. Nearly all parts of the palm are useful, and it has significant economic value. These include flowers (In Kerala, the coconut flowers must be present during a marriage ceremony. The flowers are inserted into a barrel of unhusked rice (paddy) and placed within the sight of the wedding ceremony), fruit, husk, shell, coconut water and coconut milk. See here for more on coconut. |
| Chakundi |
Chakundi, Siamese Senna. It is a morderate size evergreen tree with shining above and glaucous beneath leaflets. Flowers are in large terminal panicles with bright yellow petals. Pods are long, thin, many seeded and shining brown. The leaves and pods of the senna plant contain compounds called hydroxyanthracene glycosides or Senna Sennoside, which are bioactive. These glycosides seem to stimulate the peristalsis of the colon and alter colonic absorption and secretion resulting in fluid accumulation and expulsion. |
| Ganga Siuli |
Ganga Siuli, Nyctanthes arbor-tristis. This small tree, reaching to about 20 ft in height, prefers a secluded and semi-shady place to grow. The leaves are oval with pointed tips, toothed at the edges and rough on the upper surface. Its flowers are arranged at the tips of branches terminally and in the axils of leaves. The flowers are waxy white, the star-like corollas five to seven lobed and with coral orange tubes. The fruits are compressed, round and two seeded. The leaves are used like sandpaper to polish wood. From the tubes, a not so fast dye is extracted for colouring silk. According to mythology, it is a heavenly tree brought to earth by the Krishna. A quarrel over it ensued between Satyabhama and Rukmini, Krishna's wives. But Krishna planted the tree in Satyabhama's courtyard in a way that when the tree flowered, the flowers fell in Rukmini's courtyard. For more on this check here or here. Various parts of this tree are widely used in the traditional medicinal systems of India. The flower is the official flower of the state of West Bengal. |
| Kamini |
Kamini, Murraya paniculata. It is a tropical, densely foliaceous evergreen plant bearing
small, white, scented flowers, which is grown as an ornamental tree or hedge. The flowers are followed by small oval red fruits with one or two seeds. Yuehchukene is isolated from the roots of Murraya paniculata possesses anti-fertility and estrogenic activities. |
| Chini Champa |
Chini Champa (Kalomuro), Artabotrys hexapetalus. Climbing shurb with glossy leaves and pointed spreading spines. Seen in moist forest areas of Sri Lanka, Southern India, Bangladesh and China. Flowers are known for thier long lasting fragrance. Leaves contain an antifertility principle. Flowers are used for making a stimulating tea like beverage and also yield an essetial oil used in perfumery. See here. |
| Jajanga |
Jajanga, Breynia retusa, named for Johann Philipp Breyn, 17th century German botanist, is a shrub that grows about 2 ft in hight. Fruit looks like a berry kept on a saucer. Powder made out of leaves are taken with suger to check diarrhea. Leaves are also used to relieve skin inflammation. Juice of the stem is used in conjunctivitis. |
| Jangli Badam |
Jangli Badam, Sterculia foetida, stercus in Latin means manure and foetida means stinking. Very large, straight desiduous tree with stinking flowers. Seeds are edible and contains protein high as 17.40 %. Bark and leaves are aperient, diaphoretic and diuretic. |
| Dakur |
Dakur, Kopsia fruticosa, an evergreen shrub grows upto 12 ft. Found in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand. Studies have shown that the barks and roots of some Apocynaceae including Kopsia fruticosa species have anticancer and antimalarial properties. See here for more. |
| Sokakainjo |
Sokakainjo, Adenanthera pavonina, deciduous tree found in India. Known by a host of common names, including red-bead tree, red sandalwood, and Circassian-bean in English. The leaves are bipinnate with 2-6 opposite pairs of pinnae, each having 8-21 leaflets on short stalks. Raw seeds are an intoxicant. The seeds have been found to be effective in treating cardiovascular diseases in pregnancy. See here for more. |
| Chiani |
Chiani, Clerodendrum inerme, evergreen shrubs, thrive in costal enviornment. Ovate leaves and fragrant flowers. Fresh dry leaves possess febrifugal properties. Boiled root mixed with coconut oil is apparently useful in rheumatism. |
| Railway Creeper |
Railway creeper, Ipomoea cairica, is one of the most common evergreen creeper. It flowers through out the year. Tubers and stems are edible when cooked. The seeds of the plant are considered purgative,the crushed leaves of the plant are also reported to be applied externally for getting relief from body rashes. Oil of the plant possess remarkable larvicidal properties. |
| Pita Koruan |
Pita Koruan, Wrightia tinctoria, a small, deciduous tree with a light gray, scaly smooth bark. It is effective against psoriasis, various scalp and skin disorders. It has anti- inflammatory and anti-bacterial medicinal properties. |
| Mandara |
Mandara, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, evergreen flowering shrub, native to East Asia, grows upto 15 ft. Many varities are found with large flowers of different colours. Flowers, lacking any smell, are used for hair care, for shoe shining. In Pacific Islands, these are used in salad. Hibiscus rosa sinensis also seems to have significant anti-anxiety associated psychobehaviour modulation. |
| Dumkhurddu |
Dumkhurddu, Gardenia latifolia, can grow upto 20-30 ft and is common in the drier districts of India. The leaves are of a bright, clear green colour. Flowers are fragrant and become yellowish in colour before they fall down. The fruit of the this tree is woody. It is a soft, 2.5 cm across ball. In IOP, we have four of these trees on the main road and just before the Director's bungalow. |