121
Neolamarckia
cadamba (Roxb.) Bosser
Synonym : Anthocephalus cadamba (Roxb.)
Miq.
Family
: Rubiaceae
Local Names
: Aattuthekku, Kadambu,
Cadam, Kadam
Flowering
and fruiting period:
April – August
Distribution: Asia, Pacific and Australia
Habitat: Along banks of rivers and streams in
evergreen forests, also in the plains
IUCN
status:
Data Deficient
Endemic: No
Uses: The fruit and inflorescences are
reportedly edible. The dried bark is used to relieve fever and as a tonic. An
extract of the leaves serves as a mouth gargle. The plant is considered to be
astringent, digestive, expectorant and febrifuge. It is used in the treatment
of conditions such as ulcers, digestive problems, fevers and vomiting. The fresh leaves are sometimes used as
serviettes or plates. A yellow dye can be obtained from the root bark. They are
an important raw material in the production of ‘attar’, which are Indian
perfumes. The timber is used for plywood, light construction, pulp and paper,
boxes and crates, dug-out canoes, and furniture components.
Key
Characters:
Deciduous trees, to 20 m high, bark
pale brown, vertically shallowly grooved. Leaves simple, opposite, decussate,
ovate or elliptic-oblong, margin entire; stipules interpetiolar. Flowers
bisexual, yellowish, in globose heads. Calyx tube globose, lobes 5. Corolla
tube lobes 5, oblong. Stamens 5, anthers sagittate, sessile. Ovary 2-celled at
base, 4-celled above, inferior, ovules many; stigma clavate. Fruit a capsule on
a fleshy globose receptacle, orange yellow, capsule membranous; seeds may,
angular, minute.
