Indian plum

The scientific name of the Indian plum: Flacourtia Indica 

Synonyms:  F. ramontchi L Herit, Family:  Flacourtiaceae

Name of Indian plum in different languages: 

English: Governor’s plum, Puneala plum

Hindi: Paniyala, Kancu

 Sanskrit: Aghori

 Tamil :  Sattaikala

Malayalam: Vaiyyankata, Akhori – അഘോരി, Karimully – കരിമുള്ളി, ചെറുമുള്ളിക്കാച്ചെടി, രാമനോച്ചി, വയങ്കതുക്.

Useful plant parts:

Bark, Leaves, Fruit

Leaf Arrangement

Shape-Lanceolate	Margin-Deticulated	Venation-Reticulate

Plant description:

Indian Plum is a small tree or large shrub, usually growing up to almost 3-5 m high. Leaves are red or pink in color when it is young. The bark is usually pale or gray and flaking. Flowers are unisexual or occasionally bisexual. Fruit are round, reddish to reddish-black or purple when it becomes ripe, fruits are appetizer and digestive.

Chemical Contents:

Flacourtin, tannin, a phenolic glucoside ester, sucrose, and proteins.

Medicinal uses:

Indian plum or Governor’s Plum is helpful to increase HB levels in the blood, The bark of the tree is useful in vitiated conditions of pitta, odontalgia, diarrhea, hemorrhoids, stomachic, and debility of the extremities. The fruits are useful in vitiated conditions of pitta and Kapha, rheumatism, nausea, dyspepsia, flatulence, colic, inflammations, skin diseases, diabetes, jaundice, tumors, urinary disorders, poisonous bites, skin diseases, erysipelas, nephropathy, psychopathy, scabies, strangury, jaundice, gastropathy and splenomegaly

Medicinal Properties:

The fruits are sweet, sour, astringent, acrid, refrigerant, digestive, stomachic, alexipharmic, anti-inflammatory, depurative, urinary astringent, and liver tonic. The bark and fruits are astringent, acrid, sour, refrigerant, stomachic, and diaphoretic.

Propagation: 

By seeds

How to prepare medicines:

Ripe fruits are edible and can be used to make jam and jelly, and also make beverages with fruits

One of the ingredients in Ayurveda medicine:

Nirgundyadi gulika