Crateva magna (Lour.) DC. (CAPPARACEAE)
Common name
Kannada: Bilipatri, Nervala.
Description: Deciduous trees up to 6 m tall. Leaves 3 foliolate; petioles up to 0.3-0.5 cm., leaflets membranaceous to sub coriaceous; nerves 11-16 pairs. Flowers many on leafy twigs. Pedicels up to 6.5 cm. sepals ascending. Petals white. The stamens measure 5-5.5 centimeters in length. The ovary is oblong-ellipsoid, reaching up to 0.4 centimeters long, while the stigma is sessile. The berry is nearly spherical, 3.5 centimeters across, containing seeds with dorsal crests and tubercles.
Distribution: India: On river banks in semi-evergreen or deciduous forests. South Asia, Malaysia.
Uses: Bark stimulates liver, demulscent, stomachic laxative, antidotes for snakebite, alterative, tonic, given in calculi and other urinary affections. In Ayurveda the bark is used in headache, scrofula carcinoma, cardiac diseases and urinary calculi.
