Trema orientalis

Botanical Name – Trema orientalis

Common Name – Indian Charcoal Tree (English), Jivani, Jivanti, Pranaka (Sanskrit), Chiraisaaj, Andia, Kursa, Pothras, Dandanni, Pottur, Jiyo (Hindi), Ghol (Marathi), Karu male (Kannada), Popti (Gujrati), Jivan gaach (Bengali)

Habit-

• Dry and moist deciduous
• Medium-sized
• Fast-growing

Habitat

• Disturbed in barren areas

Distribution – Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala

Specific properties

• Pioneer species
• Preferred for soil reclamation and 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 and act as seed dispersals
• Attracts lots of insects such as bees, flies, wasps, butterflies
• Larval host plant for-
  • Rapala manea- Slate Flash
  • Euripus consimilis – Painted Courtesan
  • Libythea Laius – Lobed Beak
  • Neptis clinia- Sullied Sailer
  • Neptis nata – ClearSailer
  • Neptis palnica – Palni Sailer

Uses

• The leaves and bark are used to treat coughs, sore throat, asthma, bronchitis, gonorrhoea, yellow fever, toothache, dysentery, parasitic worm infection, bleeding of intestines and stomach etc
• Wood is used for charcoal production and manufacturing of poles
• Leaves are used as fodder
• Shade tree in coffee and cocoa plantations
• Rich in tannin, yields dye
• The wood is suitable for paper and pulp production
• The bark is used for making string or rope, and used for waterproofing fishing-lines

Propagation

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