Schleichera oleosa

Botanical Name – Schleichera oleosa

Common Name – Lac tree, Kusumbha (Sanskrit), Kusum, Kosam (Hindi), Kusum (Marathi), Chakota (Kannada)

Habit-

• Large deciduous tree
• Slow growing
  
  

Habitat-

• Dry deciduous and moist deciduous forest
• Prefer rocky hilly areas
  
  

Distribution – Punjab, Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka

Specific properties

• Drought resistant
• Fire resistant
• Dense shade tree
  
  

Ecology

• Macaques, spotted deer, birds, bats feed on fruits
• Elephants feed on the leaves
• Birds prefer it for roosting for its dense shade
• Kusum is as the host tree of lac insect
  
  
  

Larval Host Plant for-
Coladenia indrani – Tricolour Pied Flat
Acytolepis puspa – Common Hedge Blue
Arhopala centaurus – Centaur Oakblue
Catochrysops strabo – Forget-me-not
Chilades pandava – Plains Cupid
Megisba malaya – Malayan
Rapala iarbus – Common Red Flash
Rathinda amor – Monkey Puzzle

Uses

• Tree has antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-cancerous properties used as cure for skin afflictions, appetite loss, ulcers, arthritis, headache, diarrhoea, neuralgia, paralysis
• Fruits and leaves are edible
• Seeds yield oil which promotes hair growth, used for culinary and lighting purposes
• Used for lac insect production
• Leaves as fodder
• The bark is used as astringent
  
  

Propagation

• Seeds