5TH WEEK PLANT OF THE WEEK 17-12-2014 Bijasal (Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb.) – Indian Kino Tree Uses Botanical Name : Pterocarpus P. marsupium marsupium Roxb. Pterocarpus marsupium is one of the valuable multipurpose Some facts: forest tree that yield excellent timber for the national & inter- Family : Leguminosae (Fabaceaea) national trade market. Wood is used for building furniture, Pterocarpus marsupium is a plant agricultural and railway purpose . drug belonging to a group called Rasayana Local Name in Ayurvedic system of medicine. These Rasayana drugs are immunomodulators Wood: The heartwood is used as an ointment to astringent, Odia : Bija , Piasal and relieve stress in the body. bitter, acrid, cooling, anti-inflammatory, union promoter, In India kannada peoples are used to Hindi : Bijasal depurative, urinary astringent, haemostatic, asthelmintic, make a wooden tumbler from the heart- Bengali : Pitshal constipating, anodyne alterant and rejuvenation. It is also wood. Water is left overnight in the wooden tumbler and is consumed in the useful in elephantiasis, inflammations, fractures bruises, lep- Sanskrit : Murga next morning to cure diabetes. rosy, skin disease, leucoderma, erysipelas urethrorrhoea, dia- Telugu : Yegi Kol tribes in Odisha pound a paste betes, rectalgia, rectitis, opthalmopathy, diarrhea, dysentery, mixture of the bark of P. marsupium with Malayalam : Venga cough, asthma, bronchitis and greyness of hair. the bark of Mangifera indica, Shorea ro- busta & Spondias pinnata to treat some Tamil : Vengai The BijaTree dysentery illness. The gum resin of this Kannada : Honne Leaves: The leaf paste is used as an ointment to treat skin plant is the only herbal product ever found (Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb.) diseases, sores and boils. that regenerate beta cells that produce in- sulin in pancreas. Habitat Flower: The flower is used as appetizing and febrifuge and also taken to treat anorexia and fever. Description Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb. is a large deciduous tree commonly found Gum-resin: The gum is taken to treat bitter, styptic, vulner- Habit : Tree in hilly region of India. ary, antipyretic, anthelmintic and liver tonic. It is useful in spasmodic gastralgia, boils, gleet, urethrorrhoea, odontalgia, Leaf : Leaves are compound with 5 to 7 leaflets. Leaflets diarrhea, psoriasis, wound and ulcers, helminthasis, fevers, Distribution are oblong or elliptical with rounded or obtuse or retuse hepatopathy and ophthalmia. India (Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, ends, glaucous beneath, secondary nerves close and paral- Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, lel, over 12 cm each side. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Orissa, Source Flower : Flower yellow, up to 1.2 cm long, corolla papil- Tamilnadu, Uttar Pradesh), Nepal, Sri Saxsena, H.O. & Brahmam, M. -Lanka. ionaceous, exserted beyond calyx, Stamen 10, split in 2 (1994). The Flora of Orissa, bundles. Vol. I, pp: 574. Flowering & Fruiting time : Sharma P.C.; Yelne M.B.; Dennis T.J. Fruit: - Legume indehiscent, orbicular, compressed, (2005 ).Database on Medicinal Plants April-July & August-October broadly hardened winged around margin, usually single Used in Ayurveda, seeded, seeds subreniform, hilum small. Vol.3, pp: 32-33. Sharma R.(2003). Medicinal plants of India-An encyclopedia, pp: 206. Conservation Status Swain B.K & Das S.K. (2007) Visual guide to wild medicinal plants of Endangered Orissa ,pp: 37. www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Pterocarpus_marsupium. .