Saraca asoca (Roxb.) Wilde (CAESALPINIACEAE)
Common names
Kannada: Ashokada mara.
Malayalam: Asoka, Asokam, Hema pushpam.
Tamil & Telugu: Asogam, Asoka.
Description: Small trees, 10-12 m tall. Leaves even-pinnate; rachis 10-25 cm long; leaflets 3-6 pairs, oblong or oblong-lanceolate, 13-23 x 5-8 cm, acute or rounded at base, acute to acuminate obtuse at apex; coriaceous. Stipules connate, intrapetiolar. Flowers in axillary, often lateral, 5 cm long, 10 cm broad, dense corymbose panicles, showy, yellow, orange or red. Bracteoles erect, embracing the calyx tube, longer than bract. Calyx 4-lobed, lobes 1 x 0.5 cm, spreading, orange-red, tube 1.5 – 2 cm long. Petals 0. Stamens 6-8, usually 7; filaments slender; anthers oblong. The ovary is linear, containing 4 or more ovules, with a coiled style and a capitate stigma. The fruit is a dehiscing flat pod, oblong, measuring 5-15 x 2.5 cm, and is coriaceous or nearly woody, with a short apiculate. The seeds are obovate-orbicular and compressed.
Flowering : December – January.
Fruiting : May – July.
Distribution: Indomalasia. Frequent in moist deciduous forests of the Western Ghats. Often cultivated.
Uses:
- The pods are known to serve as excellent forage for cattle. Additionally, it is commonly cultivated as both an ornamental and avenue tree. This plant holds significant religious importance for Hindus and Buddhists, with its flowers being extensively utilized in religious ceremonies and temple decorations.
- Bark astringent, antibilious, uterine sedative, used in leucorrhoea, menorrhagia and other menstrual disorders, in haemorrhoid, dyspepsia, colic, pimples; bark and flower antibilious, used in haemorrhagic dysentery; leaf blood purifier, used in stomach-ache; flower uterine tonic, antidiabetic, antisyphilitic; seed used in urinary discharges.
- In Ayurveda, the bark is employed for addressing conditions such as worm infestation, polyuria, fever, leprosy, and gynecological disorders. Notably, well-known Ayurvedic formulations that feature this bark include “Ashokarishta” and “Ashokaghrita.” The former is prescribed in leucorrhoea, haematuria, menorrhagia and other diseases of genitor-uterine system of females.