Holoptelea integrifolia (Roxb.) Planchon (ULMACEAE)
Common names
Kannada: Rasbeeja, Thavasai.
Tulu: Raavu beeja.
Tamil: Aya, Tambachi.
Telugu: Thapasi, Nauli.
Description: Deciduous trees, 15-20 m tall with grey, pustular bark. Leaves alternate, distichous, elliptic, oblong or elliptic-ovate, 8-13 x 3-6 cm, rounded or cordate at base, acute or acuminate at apex, glabrous, penninerved; main nerves 5-7 pairs; petioles 0.5 – 1.5 cm long; stipules lateral. Flowers polygamous in short racemes or fascicles at the scars of fallen leaves, brownish. Perianth simple, calycine, lobes 4, unequal. Stamens 4-8 (often 6 or 7); filaments erect; anthers pubescent, hairy. The ovary is unilocular with a short, bifid style. The fruit takes the form of an indehiscent samara, circular and flat, with wings approximately 2.5 cm in diameter that are membranous. There is a single, flat seed within.
Flowering & Fruiting: January – April.
Distribution: India: Western Peninsula. Occasional in deciduous hill forests of Deccan, E. slopes of Western Ghats. Sri Lanka, Indo-China.
Uses:
- The leaves and young fruits are consumed. The wood, characterized by its light yellow hue and moderate weight, finds application in various uses such as brush backs and handles for dusting brooms, indoor construction, affordable furniture, cabinet work, carving, ploughs, yokes, carts and carriages, combs, shoe heels, mathematical instruments, warper bobbins for jute mills, cotton reels, and the construction of dugout boats. The wood is also suitable for plywood, packing cases, slate frames, multi-ply jute bobbins, and matchboxes and splints.
- The wood is used as fuel and for making charcoal. The wood is used for paper pulp. The bark may be pulped and made into hardboards and insulation boards. The bark is used in tuberculosis, piles, fistula, abdominal diseases, leprosy, polyuria and vomiting.