KUMIZHU

SI Name: Gmelina arborea
Family: Verbenaceae

Distribution:
Almost all forests in India.Mostly seen in watery areas of hills and valleys.Native to tropical moist forest from India, Burma, and Sri Lanka to southern China, Gmelina is widely introduced, e.g. in Brazil, Gambia, Honduras, Ivory Coast, Malaysia, Malawi, Nigeria, Panama, Philippines, and Sierra Leone

Morphology:
Deciduous tree 12–30 m high and 60–100 cm in diameter. Bark light gray or gray-yellow, smooth, thin, somewhat corking, becoming brown and rough; twigs stout, often slightly 4-angled. Leaves opposite, broadly ovate, 10–20 cm long, 7–13 cm wide; base with 2–4 glands beneath, acuminate, entire, with 3 or 5 main veins from near base and 2–5 pairs of side veins, underneath velvety with yellow-brown hairs. Petiole 5–12 cm long, hairy. Cymes paniculate at ends of twigs, 15–30 cm long, branched, densely hairy. Flowers many, short-stalked, nodding, 4 cm long, densely hairy. Calyx bell-shaped, 5 mm long, 5-toothed; corolla bright orange-yellow or brownish-yellow, with short narrow tube, 2-lipped; stamens 4 in 2 pairs inserted near base of tube. Pistil with elliptical 4-celled ovary having 1 ovule in each cell. Stigma often slightly 2–4-forked. Drupes ovate or pyriform, 2–2.5 cm long, smooth, becoming orange-yellow, pulpy, with large egg-shaped stone, having 1–4 cells. Seeds 1–4 (Little, 1983).

Chemical constitutions:
The drupes are reported to contain butyric acid traces of tartaric acid and resinous and saccharine matter, the latter two also in the roots, which contain traces of benzoic acid. Root cotained alkaloids, benzoic acid, etc. Fruit contained sugar, tartaric acid, alkaloids.

Rasadi Gunas:
Rasam: Tiktham, Kashayam, Madhuram
Gunam: Guru
Veeryam: Ushnam
Vipakam: Katu