Polyalthia longifolia (Sonn.) Thwaites
Polyalthia longifolia (Sonn.) Thwaites
MT097 : Polyalthia longifolia (Sonn.) Thwaites
| Plant Category | : | Tree |
| Melghat's Flora's Serial No. | : | |
| Synonym | : | Guatteria longifolia (Sonn.) Wall.;
Unona longifolia (Sonn.) Dunal.;
Uvaria altissima Pennant.;
Uvaria longifolia Sonn.; |
| Plant Common Name | : | Ashok, False Ashok, Mast Tree • Hindi: Ashok • Marathi: Devdar • Malayalam: Hemapushpam • Telugu: Devdaru • Tamil: Vansulam • Assamese: Umboi • Kannada: Ubbina • Sanskrit: Putrajiva • Konkani: Asok |
| Plant Family | : | Annonaceae |
| Description | : | An evergreen tree with a straight trunk, conical crown and slender drooping branches, about 10-25 m tall. Bark dark grayish brown, branches sparsely puberulous when young, glabrous when mature. Leaves simple, alternate, narrow lanceolate or linear lanceolate, 15-25 x 2-4 cm across, base slightly acute or cuneate, margin wavy or undulate, apex long acuminate, membranous, coriaceous, faintly aromatic, shining dark green, glabrous above, paler glaucous beneath, lateral veins 25-30 on either side of the midrib, impressed above, prominent on the midrib beneath, very slightly on the veins beneath, reticulate veinlets fine and close, petiole pubescent, about 0.8-1.5 long. Flowers bisexual, axillary, solitary or fascicled on very short umbels from axils of fallen leaves, yellowish green, about 2.5-3 cm long, pedicels slender, tomentose, about 1-1.5 cm long, bracts submedian. Sepals 3, broadly ovate or triangular, base connate, apex acute, pubescent, about 1-2 x 1-1.5 mm across. Petals 6, in 2 series, valvate, outer petals, slightly narrower than the inner petals, lanceolate, base broad, apex acuminate, yellowish green, fleshy, glabrous inside, about 6-7 x 2 mm across, inner petals base broader than outer petals, about 10-15 x 2.5 mm across. Stamens numerous, about 1 mm long, anthers broad, dorsal, connectives convex flat on top. Carpels many, base slightly broad, linear, puberulous, stigma sessile. Ripe carpels, subglobose or ellipsoid monocarps, obtuse at base and apex, green when young, dark purplish black when ripe, about 2 x 1 cm across, stalk stout, about 1-1.5 cm long, Seeds 1, pale brown to light brown, longitudinally grooved, ovoid. |
| Plant Location in Melghat | : | |
| Medicinal Use / Activity | : | used for the treatment of uterine disorder; |
| Plant's Phytochemicals | : | COMPOUNDS: O-methylbulbocapnine-N-oxide; polyfothine; N-methylnandigerine-N-oxide; oliveroline-N-oxide; pendulamine A; N-pendulamine B; 8-oxopolyalthiane; Aporphine; azafluorene; h-sitosterol; clerodane; caryophyllene oxide; Beta-caryophyllene; Beta-selinene; alpha-humulene; alpha-curcumene; alpha-copaene; Beta-selinene; alpha-muurolol; viridiflorene; alpha-guaiene; allo-aromadendrene; delta-cadinene; camphene; ACTIVE COMPOUNDS (6): Caryophyllene; Beta-caryophyllene; Alpha-humulene; Curcumene; Alpha-curcumene; Camphene; |
| Plant's Current Status | : | |
| Plant's Cross Database Reference | : | 259142 |
| Reference | : | |
| Reference | : | ~ K. V. Katkar, A. C. Suthar, and V. S. Chauhan; "The chemistry, pharmacologic, and therapeutic applications of Polyalthia longifolia"; Pharmacogn Rev (2010); 4(7): 62–68 PMID : 22228943 ~ Omesh Bajpai, Jitendra Pandey and Lal Babu Chaudhary; "Ethnomedicinal Uses of Tree Species by Tharu Tribes in the Himalayan Terai Region of India"; Research Journal of Medicinal Plant (2016); 10(1): 19-41 PMID : |
| Kingdom | : Plantae - Plants |
|---|---|
| Phylum | : Tracheophyta |
| Subkingdom | : Tracheobionta - Vascular plants |
| Superdivision | : Spermatophyta - Seed plants |
| Division | : Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants |
| Class | : Magnoliopsida - Dicotyledons |
| Subclass | : Magnoliidae |
| Order | : Magnoliales |
| Family | : Annonaceae |
| Genus | : Polyalthia |
| Species | : Polyalthia longifolia (Sonn.) Thwaites |