53
Crateva
religiosa G.Forst.
Synonym : Capparis magna Lour.
Family
: Capparaceae
Local Names
: Neermathalam, Mavulangam,
Garlic Pear Tree
Flowering
and fruiting period:
March – April
Distribution: Indo-Malesia and China
Habitat: River banks in semi-evergreen forests
IUCN
status:
Data Deficient
Endemic:
No
Uses: Vitamin C source, Fruits edible, The juice
from the bitter stem or root bark is used in decoction for stimulating the
appetite or as a digestive, as a laxative against colic and as a febrifuge, The
root bark is used to treat urolithiasis, The fresh leaves are rubefacient and
tonic, They are applied as a tonic and skin irritant against high fever, The
bark is used to wash clothes, bark is used locally for carving and to
make household utensils, drums and match sticks
Key
Characters:
Trees, to 10 m high, bark surface grey,
smooth, longitudinally wrinkled. Leaves alternate, digitately trifoliate;
leaflets unequal, ovate, margin entire. Flowers bisexual, creamy white, in
terminal corymbs. Sepals 4, free, oblong, adnate to
