Monday, February 23, 2009

Grewia asiatica L.


English Name : Phalsa, Phassa

Family : Tiliaceae

Origin : India and Nepal

Description
A middle-sized tree, bark greyish-white or greyish-brown, sapwood whitish, heartwood small, irregularly shaped, dark brown. Branchlets and underside of leaves varying from glabrous to densely and softly tomentose. Leaves varying from broad-cordate to obliquely ovate. Stipules varying from linear to foliaceous and broadly falcate. Peduncles axillary, in fascicles of 2-10, varying in length from 1/2-2 inches, each bearing 3-5 flowers. Sepals 1/4-1/2, petals 1/8-1/4 inch, yellow or red and yellow, blade as long as or longer than claw. Fruit globose, with pleasantly acid pulp, indistinctly lobed.

Habitat
Drier woodlands and on most soils as well as drier vine thickets and coastal regions.

Parts Used : Fruit, leaves, bark

Herb Effects
Astringent and stomachic (fruit); demulcent, febrifuge (bark)

Active Ingredients
Betulin (bark)

Medicinal Use
In respiratory, cardiac and blood disorders, as well as in fever. For diarrhea (bark); in treating rheumatism (root bark); for strangury and gonorrhoea (roots); applied on skin eruptions and they are known to have antibiotic action (leaves).

Reference

No comments: