Garcinia Xanthochymus
Devi Nair
Picture taken at Kozhikode, Kerala, at home in the first week of March, 2010.
I got the following information from this link. It says that in South India, the fruit is used as a substitute for tamarind; but we usually use Garcinia Cambogia [ Kudampuli].
Maybe other members could correct or add information.
Regards,
Devi.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Syn : Xanthochymus tinctorius DC., Garcinia tinctoria Dunn.
English name: Egg tree.
Sanskrit names: Tamala, Tapinjha.
Vernacular names: Ben: Tamal, Chalta; Hin : Dampel, Tamal, Tumul; Guj : Kasamala, Ota; Kan:Deva-garige; Mal: Anavaya; Man: Heilbung; Mar: Jharambi, Dampel, Ota; Nep : Chunyel; Ori : Cheoro, Sitambu; Tam: Kulavi, Malaippachai, Mukki, Tamalam; Tel: Sitakamraku, Evarumidi, Tamalamu.
Trade name: Tamala.
Traditional use: Fruit: antiscorbutic, cooling, digestive, emollient, demulcent and cholagogue. Sherbet made from dried fruit is used in billiousness.
AYURVEOA : Young branch: paste as ointment on boils; Bark: astringent; Leaf: decoction useful in diarrhoea; Young leaves (roasted in a special method) : used in dysentery; Seed: butter made from seeds useful in pulmonary affections, dysentery, goitre.
Modern use: Xanthochymol : antibacterial against Streptococcus faecallis and Klebsiella pneumoniae.
Phytography : Evergreen tree, trunk straight; branches arising in tiers, drooping, angular; leaves opposite, coriaceous, bright green, shining, 22.5-45.0 cm by 5-10 cm; flowers polygamous, male flowers from axils of fallen leaves, fascicled with 4-8 flowers, white, thick, rough, hermaphrodites like male flowers, ovary ovoid, usually 5:chambered; fruits subglobose, pointed, dark yellow; seeds 1-4, oblong, yields a large quantity of gamboge.
Phenology: Flowering: Spring; Fruiting: Summer.
Distribution: Native to India and Myanmar; distributed widely in the lower hill forests of eastern Himalaya, Meghalaya, Sikkim, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, the Andamans; Bangladesh, Myanmar.
Ecology and cultivation: Tropical forest; wild.
Chemical contents: Fruit: xanthochymol, isoxanthochymol, maclurin, euxanthone, 1,5-dihydroxy- and 1,3,5-trihydroxy-xanthones, methoxyxanthones, cambogin, volkensiflavone, morello-flavone, biflavones.
Remark: In South
India, fruits of this species are used in lieu of tamarind.
--
Earth is here so kind, that just tickle her with a hoe and she laughs with a harvest.
-- Douglas Jerrold.
Dr Santhosh Kumar
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "efloraofindia" group.
To post to this group, send email to indian...@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to indiantreepi...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/indiantreepix?hl=en.
--
SANTHOSH
------------------------------------------
Dr. E.S. Santhosh Kumar
Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute, Palode
Thiruvananthapuram-695562
Kerala
India
www.drsanthosh.wetpaint.com