Chironji
| Botanical Name: | Buchanania lanzan |
|---|---|
| English Name: | Chironji |
| Local Name: | Local name:- Chironji Tree • Hindi: chiraunji, • Marathi: charoli, • Tamil:charam • Malayalam: muungaappeezh• Telugu: charumamidi, • Kannada: charoli, kole maavu • Bengali: chironji, piyal, sarop • Oriya: charu, chanhra • Konkani: |
More Information
Unique identification feature
- It is an evergreen, moderate sized tree with thick, broad leaves. The flowers are small, greenish-white in colour.The tree bears edible fruit which are small green coloured sphere which turns red to purple upon maturation. The ripe fruits are sweet, nutritious, laxative and useful in fever. It has a seed that encloses the brown nutty kernel called the chironji nuts.
Unique identification feature
- Charoli seeds are relatively low in calories and are a good source of protein and fat. They contain good amounts of dietary fibre, vitamins like vitamin C, vitamin B1, vitamin B2 and niacin, minerals like calcium, phosphorus and iron. The leaves are used in treatment of cold, cough, bronchitis, gas, constipation, skin diseases. The bark of tree is used to treat fever, bleeding disorders, dysentery.The oil extracted from kernels is used for curing skin diseases and removing spots/blemishes from the face. Chironji nuts are used as brain tonic. They are good for skin due to their richness in fat, vitamins and minerals. These nuts are antioxidants and improves body immunity to fight infections. Chironji seeds acts as scrub to enhance the beauty. According to Unani system of medicine, leaf juice is digestive, expectorant, aphrodisiac, purgative, blood purifier and allays thirst. The tree is reported to pacifies vitiated pitta,kapha and can be used in diarrhea, dysentery, skin diseases, burning sensation, cough, bronchitis, nervous debility, cardiac debility, constipation, fever, ulcer, oligospermia and general debility.
Planting and Care
- The tree is propagated from seeds which are contained inside a hard shell. Before sowing, challenging task is to crack the shell carefully, as the fruit inside it is often extremely soft and tender.It grows moderately fast and tolerates drought too! Though in earlier times, the forests were full of them, now they are facing mass destruction. There is absolutely no or very less demand for commercial cultivation of the tree as fruits are directly collected from the natural wild trees occurring in the forest and marginal lands by tribal people.Occasionally the trees are cut partly or completely by the tribals to collect the fruits. Therefore, the species is facing a great threat. Unfortunately, many of the tree populations have been completely wiped off in the recent past due to developmental activities and want of agriculture land by farmers. <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--> <!--[endif]-->
Plant Images
