Terminalia arjuna

Scientific Classification

Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Angiospermae
Class: Dicotyledonae
Order: Myrtales
Family: Combretaceae
Genus: Terminalia
Species: T.arjuna
Scientific Name: Terminalia arjuna (Roxb) W. & A.

Common names
English: White marudah, tropical almond, arjun, Malabar almond, arjuna.
Hindi: koha, arjun, arjuna, arjan, kahu.
Kannada: Nirmatti.
Marathi: Arjuna, Arjun Sadada, Sadura.

Description

1. Habit and Habitat: SEvergreen large tree, grows up to 20-25 meters in height. It Shedds its skin in time to time. Bark is smooth and grey. Marshy areas and on riverbanks. Banks of streams and rivers in central India.
2. Distribution: The species is common in mixed dry deciduous tropical forests throughout the greater part of India, Sri Lanka, and Mayanmar.
3. Morphology:

Leaf: Leaves simple, sub opposite, coriaceous, oblong or elliptic, hard, 10-20 cm long.
Inflorescence: short axillary spikes or small terminal panicles.
Flowers: Flowers are small, cup-shaped, regular, sessile, polygamous, white, creamy or greenish-white and strongly honey-scented. Calyx is glabrous and has five short triangular lobes.
Androecium: Stamens much exserted.
Gynoecium: Ovary glabrous. Disk densely yellowish-hairy.
Fruit: Fruit is ovoid dark brown to reddish brown fibrous woody, indehiscent drupe, glabrous with 5-7 equal thick narrow stiff-wings and striated with numerous upwards-curved veins.
Seeds: Obovoid, turgid.
Flowering and Fruiting time: April-July. June onwards.

1. Propagation: by seeds.
2. Importance: The timber is very useful for agricultural implements and boat-building. Leaves juice used in earache, externally used as a cover on sores and ulcers; Fruits used as tonic. Bark useful in fractures, ulcers, urethrorrhea, leucorrhoea, diabetes, cardiopathy, anemia cirrhosis of the liver and hypertension.
3. Location: Botanical Garden.