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Weaver's Beam Tree
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Weaver's Beam Tree
ative Photo: Prashant Awale
Common name: Weaver's Beam Tree • Hindi: बनपलास Banpalas, मोखड़ी Mokhdi, मोखा Mokha • Kannada: Bula, ಕಲ್ಗಂಟೆ Kalgante, ಕಲ್ಗೋಟೆ Kalgote, ಗಂಟೆ Gante, ಮೊಗಲಿಂಗ Mogalinga, ಮೊಗಲಿಂಗಮರ Mogalingamara • Malayalam: maggamaram, malamplasu, muskkakavrksam • Marathi: मोखा Mokha, Mokadi, Nakti • Oriya: ମୋକ୍କା Mokka • Sanskrit: Ghantapatali, Golidha, Kastapatola • Tamil: kattupparutticceti, mogalingam, makalinkam • Telugu: bullakaya, magalinga, tondamukkudi
Botanical name: Schrebera swietenioides    Family: Oleaceae (Jasmine family)

Weaver's Beam Tree is a moderate sized deciduous tree, growing up to 20 m tall, with thick grey bark. Leaves are pinnate, with 3-4 pairs of opposite leaflets, and a terminal one. Leaflets are ovate, entire, unequal-sided, petioles thickened at the insertion of leaflets. Flowers are yellowish white, variegated with brown, in terminal trichotomous, corymb-like, compound clusters. Flowers are fragrant at night. Flower tube is funnel- shaped, 8-12 mm long. Petals are 5-7, widely spreading, wedg-shaped, blunt, with brown glandular raised dots on the upper side. Capsule is the size of a hen's egg, pear-shaped, woody, hard, scabrous, 2-celled, seeds 4 in each cell, pendulous, irregularly oval, compressed, produced into a long membranous wing. The wood is used by weavers to make the beam of the looms. Flowering: February-April.
Medicinal uses: The roots, bark and leaves are bitter, acrid, appetising, digestive, thermogenic, stomachic, depurative, constipating urinary astringent and anthelmintic. The fruits are reported to be useful in curing hydrocele.

Identification credit: Satish Phadke, Shrikant Ingalhalikar Photographed in Maharashtra.

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