Quassia indica (Gaertn.) Nooteb.

കരിഞ്ഞോട്ട

Family : SIMAROUBACEAE

Synonym : Samadera lucida (Wall.) Planch. 

Common Names : Njotta, Karinjotta, Niepa bark tree, Rangoon creeper

Flowering Period : Throughout the year

Distribution : India, Myanmar and Sri Lanka

Habitat : Along backwaters and moist deciduous forests

Uses : The bark is used in the treatment of fevers. The juice of the pounded bark is considered a cure for skin diseases. After maceration, or in decoction, the bark and wood are used as a febrifuge, tonic, stomachic and emmenagogue. A decoction of the leaves is taken to relieve cough. The macerated leaves, mixed with coconut oil, are used to kill head lice. The oil from the seeds is applied externally on rheumatic joints, and used as a liniment on bruises. A decoction of the leaves is used to kill termites. The macerated leaves, mixed with coconut oil, are applied to the hair for cleansing purposes.

Key Characters :

Evergreen tree or shrub to 10 m high. Leaves elliptic-oblong, glabrous, shining. Flowers 20 or more in umbelliform glabrous or puberulous inflorescences. Calyx  4-lobed; lobes semiorbicular. Petals 4, free, oblong-oblanceolate, white, pale yellow or purplish. Stamens 8. Anthers oblong-lanceolate. Drupes 1-4 together, flat, smooth, glandular and reticulate.