Coscinium
fenestratum
(Gaertn.) Coleb.
Menispermum
fenestratumGaertn.
MENISPERMACEAE
Vernacular names:
Hindi - Jhar-haldi
Kannada - Maradrashina, Arasina
balli
Malayalam
-
Maramanjal
Marathi - Jhade-halade
Sanskrit - Darvi, Daruharidra
Tamil -
Maramanjal
Telugu
- Manu-pasupu
Threat
status:
Critically
Endangered (A 1 a,c,d)
-
KA,
KL & TN
Habit:
Large woody climber
Habitat: Moist deciduous to evergreen forests
Altitude: 350
-
1200 m
Distribution:
Global:
Indo-Malaya (southern India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and West
Malaysia). National:
Western Ghats of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Regional:
In
Karnataka, occurs in the dense semi-evergreen forests of Coorg,
Uduppi, Dakshina and Uttara Kannada districts. In Kerala, found
in semi-evergreen and evergreen forests of Thiruvananthapuram,
Thrissur, Wynaad, Idukki and Palakkad districts. In Tamil Nadu,
occurs in Kanniyakumari, Tirunelveli and Nilgiri districts.
Description:
A large
dioecious woody climber. Bark is thin, greyish and
occasionally with irregular vertical fissures. The sap of
the stem is watery and deep yellow. Young stems cylindrical with
minute dense brown hairs.
Leaves
are
alternately arranged, sub-peltate to peltate, broadly egg-shaped
with acuminate apex, 15-28 x 10-24 cm, hairless above, white
shiny tomentose below, with prominent 57 nerves arising at the
junction of leaf stalk; leaf stalk 8-15 cm long, conspicuously
swollen at both ends. Flowers are stalkless,
minute, yellow, about 2 mm long, many, seen in clustered heads.
The heads are about 7 mm across, borne on 5-12 cm long racemes,
5-7 in number. The fruits are said to be drupes,
globose, about 3 cm across, greenish brown turning yellow when
ripe with dense, minute brown hairs. Seeds white.
Phenology:
Flowering:
August to
November; Fruiting: December to March
Note:
Included
in the negative list of exports notified by Govt. of India
(Notification 2 (RE-98) dt 13.4.98, 1997-2002).
Medicinal uses:
Stem is
anti-inflammatory and antiseptic. Used to treat tastelessness,
bleeding piles, cough, wounds, ulcers, skin diseases, abdominal
disorders, jaundice, liver disorders, intrinsic haemorrhage,
diabetes, snake bite, fever and general debility.
Trade
information:
Local,
regional, national and global. In southern India the stem / stem
bark of Coscinium fenestratum is the accepted source of
Daruhaldi / Daruharidra. It is traded under the
name Mirmanjal. In northern India, Berberis chitria
is the primary source of Daaruharidra.
Mode of
propagation:
By seeds
and stem cuttings
Special
characters:
The leaves
are sub-peltate to peltate with a striking white colour
beneath. The cut stems show unique wheel-like medullary rays,
deep yellow in colour. They diverge from center to the
periphery. Flowers and fruits are always seen on the older
stems.