Gmelina arborea Roxb.

കുമ്പിൾ

Family : VERBENACEAE

Synonym : Gmelina sinuate Link

Common Names : Kumalu, Kumbil, Kumizhanpazham, Kumizhu, Sevana, Gambhari, Candahar tree, Coomb teak, Cashmeri teak, Gamari, Kambari, White teak

Flowering Period : January-June

Distribution : Indo-Malaysia

Habitat : Moist and dry deciduous forests, also in the plains

Uses : The fruit is edible. The flowers are mixed with rice to make a delicious cake-like festive dish that is eaten on the traditional New Year. The bark, leaves and roots contain traces of alkaloids and are used medicinally in the plants native range. The roots have great medicinal value as a blood purifier, laxative, stomachic, tonic and as an antidote to poisons. The leaf sap is used as a demulcent to treat gonorrhoea and cough, and is also applied to wounds and ulcers. The tree is often grown as a windbreak and as a hedge. Both the wood ash and the fruit yield a very persistent yellow dye.

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