Memecylon malabaricum (C. B. Clarke.) Cogn. (MELASTOMATACEAE)
Common names
Kannada: Dodda nekkare.
Tulu: Olle kodi.
Tamil: Malamthetti, Perungaca.
Description: The trees can reach heights of up to 15 meters. The leaves are arranged oppositely, ovate-oblong, with dimensions of up to 10 x 5 cm. They are semi-amplexicaul or subcordate at the base and acute or subobtuse at the apex. The flowers are in subsessile clusters and have a purplish-blue hue. Calyx campanulate above the ovary. Corolla lobes 4, suborbicular. Stamens 8; anthers opening by slits; connective ending in a spur. Ovary 1-celled. Berries spherical, up to 6 mm across, crowned by the calyx limbs, blackish. Seed solitary.
Flowering & Fruiting: December – July.
Distribution: India: In moist deciduous and evergreen forests of Western Ghats. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Endemic.
Uses: A good fuel wood. Decoction of flowers and twigs are used in skin troubles. The extract of young leaves is given in indigestion and stomach-ache. The ground paste of leaves applied to herpes wounds.