Securinega leucopyrus (Willd.) Muell. – Arg. (EUPHORBIACEAE)
Common names
Kannada: Bili sooli gida, Sooli.
Malayalam: Perinklavu
Sanskrit: Nilishila.
Tamil: Pulanji.
Telugu: Tella purugudu.
Description: Erect, rigid, much branched shrubs up to 5 m tall; branchlets angular, slender, usually ending in sharp spines. Leaves alternate, obovate to elliptic, up to 2.5 x 1.5 cm, acute or cuneate at base, emarginated at apex. Male flowers in axillary fascicles, greenish yellow; female solitary. Perianth lobes 5. There are 5 free stamens, and the disc consists of 5 glands alternating with the stamens. The pistilode is 3-fid. The fruits are globose, measuring about 5 mm across, with 3 cells, and appear white when ripe. The seeds are trigonous, smooth, and pale brown.
Flowering & Fruiting: May – September.
Distribution: India: Punjab, Rajasthan and Western Peninsula. Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar.
Uses: Juice or paste of leaves used along with tobacco to destroy worms in the sores.