Meyna Laxiflora

Botanical Name – Meyna laxiflora

Common Name – Phenil, Nagakesarah, Pichuk, Taskar, Pindi-tak, Shalya, Vrishchika (Sanskrit), Meyna (Hindi), Alu (Marathi)

Distribution – Uttar Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala

Habit

• Small sized evergreen tree
• Slow growing
  
  

Habitat

• Evergreen and moist deciduous forests
  
  

Specific Properties

• Found at a higher elevation
  
  

Ecology

• Birds, squirrels feed on fruits
• Larval host plant for Common Tit butterflies
• Attracts lots of insects, bees, ants, flies
  
  

Uses

• Leaves are used in food
• Unripe fruits are pickled and ripe are edible
• Fruit is strengthening, cooling & expellant of phlegm and bile, has antioxidant activity
• Leaves paste with coconut oil cures swelling, leaves used as anti-dandruff shampoo
• Seed powder mixed with water is used to treat kidney stones by tribals
• Seeds also known as female anti fertility agent
• Decoction of the leaves is used against diphtheria
  
  

Propagation

• Seeds