Symplocos cochinchinensis (Lour.) S. Moore

subsp. Jaurina (Retz.) Noot.

SYMPLOCACEAE

S. spicata Roxb.

S. spicata Roxb. var. laurina (Relz.) C.B.Clarke

 

Vernacular names:

Hindi             - Lodh

Kannada        - Boodaganni, Changa, Manjatte

Malayalam      - Pachotti

Sanskrit         - Lodhrah

Tamil            - Kamb/i vetti, Pithakkottai, Vaspa maram

 

Threat status:

Lower Risk near threatened - KA

Lower Risk least concern - KL & TN

 

Habit: Trees

 

Habitat: Shola borders, slopes and along riversides from wet deciduous to shola forests

 

Altitude: 300 - 2200 m

 

Distribution: Global: India to Malaysia, China and Japan. National: Widely distributed in evergreen forests from Himalayan to southern India and Shola forests of Western Ghats. Regional: Very common in the moist to evergreen forests of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

 

Description: Medium sized trees, 8-18 m tall, about 1 m girth. Bark smooth, light grey, thin, about 4 mm thick. Blaze creamy white. Wood white, soft and even-grained. Branchlets hairless. Leaves alternate, egg-shaped to elliptic-Ianceolate, 5-16 x 3-6 em, base acute, apex rounded to acute-acuminate, margin toothed with rounded to saw-like teeth, leathery, glossy, distinctly stalked, hairless; lateral nerves 6-8 pairs. Flowers bisexual, stalkless, in simple or branched axillary spikes, about 8 mm across, white, fragrant. Drupes globose or conical, about 8 x 6 mm, faintly ribbed, smooth, crowned with an apical ring, ripening purplish blue. Seeds 1-3, oblong.

 

Phenology: Flowering: July to October; Fruiting: February to May. Stray flowers and fruits seen almost throughout the year.

 

Medicinal uses: Stem bark is used in the treatment of uterine complaints, vaginal diseases and menstrual disorders. Useful in treating diarrhoea, dysentery, eye diseases, fever, cough, ulcers, swellings, menorrhagia and leucorrhoea. A decoction of the bark is used as a gargle for giving firmness to spongy and bleeding gums.

 

Trade information: Local and regional. Stem bark is used as a substitute for 'Lodhra' (Symplocos racemosa) in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Priced at Rs.4/Kg. (Kerala, 1993).

 

Mode of propagation: By seeds and stem cuttings

 

Special characters: Mature leaves turn yellow and form a yellow carpet under the tree. Fresh leaves taste sour. The new flush of leaves is purplish pink. Stems and branch lets always covered with greenish yellow lichen patches.