Bridelia retusa

Botanical Name – Bridelia retusa

Common Name – Ekavira, Asan (Sanskrit), Kasai, Khassi, Akaj, Kachmada, kankol, Khadka (Hindi), Asana (Marathi), Komanj (Kannada)

Distribution – Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Kerala, Jharkhand, Goa, Telangana

Habit

• Medium size deciduous tree
• Fast-growing
  
  

Habitat

• Moist evergreen and dry deciduous forests
• Near streams
  
  

Specific properties

• Preferred for soil reclamation
• Good for planting on farms
• Fire resistant
• Drought resistant
  
  

Ecology

• Birds such as Flowerpeckers, Flycatchers, Yellow-footed Green Pigeon, Bulbuls, Mynas feed on its fruits
• Sloth bear, civets, macaques, squirrels feed on fruits
• Larval host plant for Pointed Ciliate Blue, Tricolour Pied Flat, Common Hedge Blue butterflies
• Attracts lots of insects such as bees, flies, wasps
  
  

Uses

• Fruits are edible
• Leaves make an excellent fodder
• Possess antioxidant activity and significant anticancer activity
• Leaves are used in the treatment of wound, urinary tract infection, dysentery, and diarrhoea
• The roots are the remedy for gonorrhoea, astringent, and purgative
• The bark is used to bring sterility in women / as contraceptive
• Bark is used as antidote against snake bite
• The bark is astringent and is used as a tanning agent
• In India the dull red wood is used for construction, railway ties, fuel, rafters, floor boards, cart shafts, wheels, agricultural equipment’s, tool handles, and shelves
  
  

Propagation

• Seeds