Oroxylum indicum (L.) Benth. ex Kurz

പലകപ്പയ്യാനി

Family : BIGNONIACEAE

Synonym : Bignonia indica L.

Common Names : Aralu, Palakapayyani, Payyazhantha, Valpathiri, Vellapathiri, Veluthapathiri, Indian trumpet flower, Broken Bones Plant, Tree of Damocles

Flowering Period : July-December

Distribution : South India and Sri Lanka

Habitat : Moist deciduous forests, also in the plains

Uses : Young leaves and flowers are edible - raw or cooked. Fruit edible – cooked. The seed is also an ingredient of ‘Chyavanprash’, a famous Ayurvedic food tonic. Root is used in the treatment of stomach complaints, diarrhoea and dysentery. The seeds and bark are used medicinally for alleviating body pain, especially during fevers, and as an antiphlogistic medicine. It is also applied to burns and wounds. A decoction of the leaves is drunk as a treatment for stomach-ache. The seeds are used as a lining of hats and to cover umbrellas. The fruit is used in tanning and dyeing, the bark is rich in tannins. The wood is used for fuel.

Key Characters :

Medium sized trees, to 12 m high; bark surface brownish-grey. Leaves compound, imparipinnate, opposite; leaflets opposite, margin entire. Flowers bisexual, in lax terminal racemes, reddish-purple outside, pinkish-yellow within. Calyx campanulate. Corolla campanulate, 5-lobed. Stamens 5, perfect. Ovary subsessile; ovule many; style slender; stigma 2-lobed. Fruit a capsule.