Species
:
Mesua ferrea
Linn
Local Name :
Synonym :
Family
: Guttiferae
Habitat : A tree found in moist evergreen or semi- evergreen forests, either scattered in more
or less pure patches or belts.
Distribution
:
Sikkim
: Occur up to 2000 m.
Outside : Himalayas from Nepal eastwards, Deccan Peninsula and the Andaman Islands ascending to an altitude of 1,500 m.
Bark grayish or reddish brown, exfoliating in large thin flakes. Leaves lanceolate, coriaceous, generally covered with a waxy bloom underneath, red when young. Flowers large, solitary or in cluster of 2-3, white fragrant. Fruits ovoid, nearly woody, 2.5- 5.0 cm long, with persistent calyx.Seeds 1- 4, dark brown, up to 2.5 cm diameter. Cotyledons fleshy, oily.
Flowering
:
Fruiting
:
History
:
Parts : Bark, flower.
Status : Vulnerable.
Ayurvedic
Hot, dry, easy to
digest, digestive, alexipharmic; good for fevers, sweats,
biliousness, foul breath, scabies, skin eruptions, itching,
small tumours, headache, blood and heart troubles, sore throat,
cough, hiccough, vomiting, thirst, dysentery and bleeding piles.
Unani
Sweetish, carminative,
binding, cardio tonic good in asthma and sweats; cures ulcers
and piles.
Other
The dried bark is used.
It is usually administered in various skin diseases (mostly
poxes) and in menstrual disorders. The aromatic bark is also
reported as to be sudorific. The flowers act as astringent,
stomachic and administered as a stimulant and settling of
pregnancy. The seed oil is used as an embrocation in rheumatism
and for skin diseases.
1. Anonymous (1962). The Wealth of India (Vol. 6). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 349- 352.
2. Kirtikar, K.R. & B.D. Basu (1993). Indian Medicinal Plants. (Vol. I). Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dheradun. 274- 276.
3. Progress Report of the Project "Studies on Medicinal Plants of Sikkim" (1998- 2001). State Council of Science and Technology for Sikkim.
4. Rai, Lalit Kumar & Eklabya Sharma (1994) Medicinal plants of the Sikkim Himalaya. Bishen Singh, Mahendra Pal Singh. 50.