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Elaeocarpus
sphaericus (Gaertn.) K.Schum.
Synonym : Ganitrus sphaerica
Gaertn.
Family
: Elaeocarpaceae
Local Names
: Rudraksham, Utrasum-bead
tree
Flowering
and fruiting period:
March - December
Distribution: North East India, Myanmar to Malaysia
Habitat: Grown as garden plant
IUCN
status:
Data Deficient
Endemic: Yes
Uses: Fruits edible, seeds
are valued as a remedy for blood pressure and heart ailments, fruit is used in
the treatment of diseases of the head and epileptic fits, leaf sap is used
to cure stomach-ache or pain in the chest and shoulders, hard seeds are made
into a variety of commodities such as beads for rosaries, hatpins, buttons etc.,
they are used as sacred beads, known as 'rudraksha'.
Key
Characters:
Trees, to 30 m tall, often buttressed
at base; young parts puberulous. Leaves alternate, oblong-lanceolate; petioles
sharply margined, pubescent. Racemes axillary, drooping, glabrous. Flower-buds
ovoid-conical; flowers white;
