Salacia
reticulata
Wight
HIPPOCRATEACEAE
Vernacular names:
Kannada
-
Ekanayakam
Malayalam
- Ekanayakam, Ponkoranti
Sanskrit -
Vairi,
Ekanayakam
Tamil -
Ekanayakam,
Ponkoranti, Koranti
Telugu -
Anukudu
chettu
Threat
status:
Endangered
(A 1 c,d)
-
KA
Data
Deficient
-
KL
Not
Evaluated - TN
Habit:
Large scan dent shrub
Habitat: Coastal to evergreen forests
Altitude: Sea level to 1000
m
Distribution:
Global:
Southern
India and Sri Lanka.
National:
Karnataka,
Kerala and southern Orissa.
Regional:
In
Karnataka, rare in semi-evergreen forests of Western Ghats. In
Kerala, reported from the coastal forests of Kollam, Western
Ghats of Pathanamthitta and Idukki districts. Not reported from
Tamil Nadu.
Description:
A large,
straggling, woody shrub with dichotomous branching.
Bark
smooth,
greenish grey, thin, white inside. Young branchlets hairless,
dark green, cylindrical, occasionally lenticellate. Leaves
opposite, elliptic-oblong,
6-12
x 3-6 cm,
base acute, apex abruptly acuminate, margin toothed with minute
rounded teeth, leathery, hairless, shiny; lateral nerves about 7
pairs, prominent beneath; leaf
hairless,
shiny; lateral nerves about 7 pairs, prominent beneath; leaf
stalks 5-10 mm long, green. Flowers bisexual, 2-8
clustered in leaf axils, about 5 mm across, stalked, greenish
white or greenish yellow. Drupes globose, 3-6 cm
across, tuberculate, pinkish orange when ripe. Seeds
1-4, almondlike.
Phenology: Flowering:
February
to April; Fruiting:
April to August
. Medicinal
uses:
Roots are used for the treatment of diabetes,
bleeding
piles,
gonorrhea, inflammation, leucorrhoea, leprosy, skin diseases,
wounds, ulcers, indigestion, flatulence, colic and
spermatorrhoea.
Trade
information:
Local and
regional. The root bark is sold under the name
Ekanaayakam
/
Ponkorandi at Rs. 7 .50 to 12/Kg. (Kerala, 1999).
Mode of
propagation:
By seeds
Special
characters:
The
dichotomous branches and attractive lemonlike pinkish orange
fruits with tuberculate surface are striking characters.
