Aphanamixis polystachya (Wall.) Parker
Amoora
rohituka (Roxb.) Wight & Am.
MELIACEAE
Vernacular names:
Hindi - Harin hara
Kannada - Mullu muttaga,
Rohithaca
Malayalam - C_mmaram
Sanskrit - Rohitaka
Tamil - Chemmaram, Vellai
kongu, Pechambagai,
-
Melampuluvam
Telugu
- Chevamanu
Threat status:
Vulnerable (A 1 c) - KA & KL
Data Deficient - TN
Habit:
Tree
Habitat:
Moist deciduous to evergreen forest
Altitude:
700 - 1500
m
Distribution: Global: India,
Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
National: Occurs almost throughout India except north and
northwestern regions. Regional: Common in higher
altitudes of Western Ghats and occasional in the Eastern Ghats
of southern India.
Description:
Trees
growing 8-20 m
tall with umbrella shaped crown.
Bark
smooth, about 5 mm thick, ashy brown, often mottled with green,
reddish inside. Branchlets robust, often with small scurfy
scales. Leaves alternate, odd-pinnate, 20-70 crn long;
leaflets
9-15, opposite
or subalternate, oblong-Ianceolate to egg-shaped-oblong, 8-25 x
4-1 0 cm, base unequal, apex abruptly acuminate, margin entire,
leathery, hairless with distinct stalks; lateral nerves 12-17
pairs. Flowers unisexual, stalkless, dull-white; male
flowers in branched spike as long as leaves, about 5 mm
across; female flowers in simple spikes which are
shorter than male spikes; both the spikes are usually drooping.
Capsules globose to pear-shaped, 3-_ em across,
smooth, shiny, yellow when ripe, splitting into 3-5 valves.
Seeds 2 or 3, covered with scarlet aril.
Phenology:
Flowering
&
Fruiting:
September to November & January to July
Medicinal
uses:
The bark is used to treat enlargement of liver,
spleen and abdominal complaints. Seed oil is applied in sores
and as a liniment in rheumatism. Bark is used for treating
tumours.
Trade
information:
Local and
commercial. The stem bark is commonly traded as Roheda
chaalor Rohitaka or Rakta rohida. Priced at Rs.20/Kg.
(Mumbai Market, 1999-2000), Rs. 80/kg. (K.R. Keshava Murthy) .
Mode of
propagation:
By seeds
Special
characters:
Leaves are
crowded at the end of branchlets. Flowering and fruiting spikes
are distinctly longer and droop. Dehiscing capsules are yellow
and the fleshy aril is scarlet.
