Trema orientalis

Botanical Name – Trema orientalis

Common Name – Indian Charcoal Tree

Habit-

• Evergreen or deciduous
• Medium-sized
• Fast-growing
  
  

Specific properties

• Pioneer species
• Preferred for soil reclamation, habitat restoration
• Drought tolerant
• Nitrogen fixing tree
  
  

Ecology

• Larval host plant for Painted Courtesan and Slate Flash Butterflies
• Known as Pigeon wood, preferred by pigeons for nesting and roosting
• Birds, rodents, small mammals feed on fruits
• Attracts lots of insects such as bees, flies, wasps, butterflies etc
  
  

Uses

• Cure for coughs, sore throat, asthma, bronchitis, gonorrhoea, yellow fever, toothache, dysentery, parasitic worm infection, bleeding of intestines and stomach etc
• Wood is used for paper, charcoal production and manufacturing of poles
• Leaves as fodder
• Shade tree in coffee and cocoa plantations
• Rich in tannin, yields dye
• Timber
  
  

Propagation

• Seeds (seeds excreted from birds have very high rate of germination)