“Ashoka”
Saraca indica
Botanical Name:
Saraca indica

Ashoka is mature, wild or cultivated trees of Saraca asoca (Rose.) De. Willd, Synonym Saraca indica Linn, Family Leguminosae

Common Name(s) in English & Indian Languages
Sanskrit: Kankeli
Assamese: Ashoka
Bengali: Ashoka
English: Asok Tree
Guajarati: Ashoka
Hindi: Ashoka
Kannada: Ashokadamara, Ashokamara, Kankalimara
Kashmiri: Ashok
Malayalam: Asokam
Marathi: Ashok
Oriya: Ashoka
Punjabi: Asok
Tamil: Asogam, Asogu, Asokam
Telugu: Ashokapatta

Botanical description:
Saraca indica Or Saraca asoca is a small evergreen tree 7-10 cm high. It occurs the up to the altitude 750 meters. Leaves are parpinnate 15-20 cm long and the leaflets 6-12, oblong and rigidly sub-coriaceous. Leaves are narrowly lanceolate, cork like at the base and with a shot pestistipules are intra-petiolar and completely united. The bark is dark brown or grey or almost black with warty surface. Stem bark are rough and uneven due to the presence of rounded or projecting lenticles. Bark channeled, smooth with circular lenticles and traversely ridged, sometimes cracked. Fracture splinting exposing striated surface, a thin whitish and continuous layer is seen beneath the cork leaver. Flowers are fragrant. Flowers are Polygamous apetalous, yellowish orange turning to scarlet, in short laterally placed corymbose, axillary panicles, bract small, deciduous, calyx petaloid. Seeds are 4-8, ellipsoid-oblong and compressed

Parts used:
Stem bark

Major chemical constituent:
Tannins and glycosides.

Therapeutic uses:
• Inflammation (Sotha)
• Burning Sensation (Daha)
• Menorrhagia or Metrorrhagia (Asargdara)
• Chronic lymphadenopathy / scrofula (Apaci)
• Vitiation of Blood and its components (Raktadosa)
 


 
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