Kamala Tree

Location in BHU campus : Planted in Botanical and Ayurvedic gardens .

Botanical name : Mallotus philippensis (Lamk.)Muell.Arg.

Family : Euphorbiaceae

Vernacular / local Name : Assam-Jorat, losan; Bengali-Kamala; Gujarati-Kapilo; Hindi-Kamala, Sindur, rohini; Kannada-Kunkumadamara; Lepcha- Puroakung, Malayalam-Manjana, kuramadakku; Marathi- Shendri; Oriya-Sinduri, kunkumo, kapilogundi; Tamil-Kapli, kungumam, kurangumanjanatti; Telugu-Kunkuma, sinduri, chendiramu.

English names : Kamala Tree

A small much-branched tree, 6-9 m high.Leaves ovate or ovate-lanceolate, entire or slightly toothed. Male flowers about 3 mm in diameter, whitish-yellow, clustered in 15-25 cm long panicled racemes; female flowers 2 together in 5-8 cm long recemes. Fruit a capsule, covered densely with red glands; seeds globose, black.

Flowering :October-December

Fruiting: February-March

• Sacred value

Flowers are offered during Mangala Gowri Puja.

• Uses

The red powder from the surface of ripe fruit forms kamala dye used in dyeing of silk and wool. Drug kamela from fruits is used for destroying tapeworms and externally in treatment of skin diseases. Seed oil is used in paints and varnishes and seed-cake as manure.