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Toothbrush Tree
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Toothbrush Tree
ative Photo: Amber Srivastava
Common name: Toothbrush Tree, Mustard tree, Salt brush • Arabic: أراك arak • Assamese: আৰাক arak, ডিগাৰু digaru • Bengali: পার্সি মেসওয়াক parsi meswak • Gujarati: ખારીજાળ kharijal, પીલુ pilu, પીલુડી piludi • Hindi: जाल jaal, मेस्वाक meswak, पीलु pilu • Kachchhi: ખારી જાર khari jar, પીલુ pilu • Kannada: ಗೋಣಿ ಮರ goni mara • Malayalam: ഉകമരം ukamaram • Marathi: खाकण khakan, मिरजोली mirjoli, पिलु pilu • Odia: ଧାରୀ dhari, ପୀଲୁ pilu, ପୀଲୁପୂର୍ଣ୍ଣୀ pilu parnni, ମୃଦୁଚ୍ଛଦ mruduchchhada, ଶୀତ ଫଳ sita phala • Persian: درخت مسواک darakht-e-misvak • Punjabi: ਪੀਲੂ pilu, ਛੋੱਟਾ ਵਣ chhotta van, ਜਾਲ jaal, ਕੌਡ਼ੀ ਵਣ kauri van • Rajasthani: खारा जाल khara jaal • Sanskrit: धानिन् dhanin, धारिन् dharin, गुडफल gudaphala, पीलु pilu, शाखिन् shakhin, शीतसह shitasaha, स्रंसिन् sramsin, वामापीडन vamapidana, विरेचन virechana • Sindhi: ડિયાર diyar, કબ્બર kabbar, ઝાલ jhaal • Tamil: பெருவிளா peru-vila, உகாய் ukay • Telugu: గున్నంగి gunnangi • Tulu: ಕಿರ್ಗೋಂಜಿ kirgonji • Urdu: پيلو pilu Source: Names of Plants in India
Botanical name: Salvadora persica    Family: Salvadoraceae (Salvadora family)

The toothbrush tree is a small tree or shrub with a crooked trunk, seldom more than one foot in diameter, its bark scabrous and cracked, whitish with pendulous extremities. The root bark of the tree is light brown and the inner surfaces are white, the odour is like cress and its taste is warm and pungent. Its fibrous branches have been used as toothbrushes by many Islamic communities — miswaks. Leaves oblong-elliptic to almost circular, 3 x 7 cm, light to dark green, rather fleshy, sometimes with wartlike glandular dots and dense, rather loose hairs; apex broadly tapering to rounded, sharp-tipped; base broadly tapering; margin entire; petiole up to 10 mm long; leaves in opposite pairs. Flowers greenish to yellowish, very small, in loose, slender-branched axillary or terminal panicles, up to 10 cm long. Fruit spherical, fleshy, 5-10 mm in diameter, pink to scarlet when mature, single seeded; seeds turn from pink to purple-red and are semi-transparent when mature. The generic name was given in 1749 in honour of an apothecary of Barcelona, Juan Salvador y Bosca (1598-1681), by Dr Laurent Garcin, botanist, traveller and plant collector. The true specimen of this species came, as the specific name indicates, from Persia.

Identification credit: Dinesh Valke Photographed at Vaghbil, Thane, Maharashtra.

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