Pala Indigo Plant

Location in BHU campus : Planted in Ayurvedic garden.

Botanical name : Wrightia tinctoria R.Br.

Family : Apocynaceae

Vernacular / local Name : Bengali - Indrajau; Gujarati – Indrajau, dudhlo; Hindi- Indrajau, mitha- indrajau, dudhi; Kannada – Kodamurki, bepalle, kodesige; Malayalam- Kotakappalla, aiyapala; Marathi – Kala kuda, indrajau; Oriya – Pita karuan, dudhokriya, krya; Sanskrit – Hyamaraka; Tamil – Veypale, irumpalai,; Telugu – Tedlapaala, amukuda, jeddapaala.

English / Trade names : Pala Indigo Plant.

A small deciduous tree, usually up to 6 m high. Leaves elliptic-lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate. Flowers white, fragrant, tubular, in terminal lax cymes. Fruit of follicles in pairs, pendulous, 20-50 cm long, cylindrical, tips adhering.

Flowering :March-July

Fruiting: December-January

  • Sacred value
  • The white scented flowers are much esteemed by Hindus as offering at temples .

  • Uses
  • Wood is of good quality for carving and turning. Juice of fresh unripe fruits is used for coagulating milk. Bark and seeds are of medicinal value. Flowers are used as a vegetable; tender leaves, seeds and pods are also eaten. Leaves yield a blue dye.

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