Valeria indica L.

V. malabarica 81.

 

DIPTEROCARPACEAE

 

Vernacular names:

Hindi             - Kahruba, Sated damar

Kannada        - Bili dhupa, Dhupada mara, Beltha paini,
                      Gugguli,

Malayalam      - Payin, Vellappayin, Vellakundirikkam

Marathi          - Rat

Sanskrit         - Dhupa, Ajakarna

Tamil             - Vellai kunthrikam, Ve/lai kungi/iyam,
                      Dhupamaram, Valllei

Telugu           - Dupadamanu

 

Threat status:

Vulnerable (A 1 c) - Globally

 

Habit: Tree

 

Habitat: Moist deciduous to evergreen forests, especially along watercou rses

 

Altitude: Up to 1200 m

 

Distribution: Endemic to Western Ghats in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Regional: In Karnataka, common throughout coastal forests and the windward side of Ghats; also planted along highways. In Kerala, abundant near stream banks of moist forests. In Tamil Nadu, reported from evergreen forests of Coimbatore and Tirunelveli districts.

 

Description: A large handsome evergreen resinous tree, reaching 25 m tall. Trunk about 3 m girth. Bark smooth, about 1 cm thick, whitish grey blotched with green, bitter and acrid in taste, peeling off into round flakes. Blaze dull brown. Wood white, hard. Young branchlets drooping, with minute star-shaped hairs. Leaves alternate, elliptic­oblong, 10-25 x 5-10 cm, base heart-shaped or rounded, apex acuminate, margin entire, leathery, hairless; lateral nerves 12-14 pairs, stout and parallel. Stipules prominent. Flowers bisexual, about 2 cm across, white, slightly fragrant, arranged in panicles. Panicles robust, multi-branched, up to 15 cm long, drooping. Capsules egg-shaped, 4­6 x 2-4 cm, pale brown, fleshy, hard when dry, splitting by 3-valves when ripe. Seeds single.

 

Phenology: Leaf fall: March; New leaves: April to May; Flowering: January to April; Fruiting: May to July

 

Medicinal uses: The resin is used for the treatment of cough, asthma, leprosy, skin eruptions, crack infection, whitlow, wounds, ulcers, gonorrhoea, dysentery, anemia, chronic bronchitis, tubercular glands, diarrhoea and ringworm. The fatty oil is antibacterial and is useful in controlling chronic rheumatism.

 

Trade information: Local and regional. Timber is traded for softwood industry and resin for medicinal industry as well as preparation of varnishes and incense. Resin is traded as Piney Resin, White Dammar or Dhupa.

 

Mode of propagation: By seeds

 

Special characters: Exudate of the bark is sticky. Young branchlets covered with minute star-shaped hairs. The new flush of foliage is bright red or copper-coloured; leaf stalks swollen at the tip. Ripe fruits are viviparous (germination in the mother plant itself before falling).