Trees Of Jaipur I: Indian Gooseberry












Saturday 4th October 2008

Common name: Amla, Indian Gooseberry.

Botanical name: Phyllanthus emblica.

1.Amla (pronounced Awanlah) {N is silent}
Is an indigenous tree to the Indian subcontinent,
Amla is a small to medium sized deciduous tree (plants that shed their leaves annually at the approach of a season of cold or drought), reaching 8 to 18 m in height, the fruit is edible of the same name.
The Tree is pleasing to look at….with crooked trunk and spreading branches drooping down.
The leaves are simple, nearly stalk less and closely set along slender branchlets.
The leaves are often mistaken for leaflets of pinnate leaves (describes a leaf that has a central axis or stem with parts branching off it).
The flowers are small, greenish-yellow or pinkish.
The fruit is nearly spherical, light greenish yellow, quite shiny and hard looking, with 6 vertical stripes or furrows.
Ripening in autumn, the berries are harvested by hand after climbing to upper branches bearing the fruits.
Sour & in taste, Amla is, eaten with salt and water to make the fruit palatable.
Amla fruit is quite fibrous.
It is the richest source of vitamin C, 445 mg/100g and has antiviral and antimicrobial properties.
Bark or fruit have shown possible effectiveness against diseases, such as for inflammation, cancer, age-related renal disease, and diabetes.
Can help in reduction of cholesterol-level in blood.
Used extensively in India to make Chavan Parash.
The Best Amla is grown in Banaras , however Amla can be grown in light as well as heavy soils excluding pure sandy soil.
Calcareous soil (earth containing limestone) with rocky substratum can also be good.
Nevertheless, well drained fertile loamy soil is the best for higher yield.
The plant has great capacity for adaptation to dry regions and can also grow in moderately alkaline soils.
It is grown extensively under tropical condition.
Amla is considered a sacred tree & is worshipped as Mother Earth …in North India.








Old Amla Tree



















The Curry Patta Tree
in
Damyanti's house





2. The Curry Tree or
Kadipatta or Sweet Neem leaf is a tropical to sub-tropical tree - native to India.
It is a small tree, growing 4-6 m tall, with a trunk up to 40 cm diameter.
However ,in Jaipur there is a tree that is more than 8 feet tall and is quite old (20 years ) with a thick trunk.
The leaves are pinnate, with 11-21 leaflets, each leaflet 2-4 cm long and 1-2 cm broad.
The flowers are small white, and fragrant.
The small black, shiny berries are edible, but their seeds are poisonous.
Leaves are highly aromatic and are used as a herb much like bay leaves.
Possible effectiveness as antidiabetic , antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-hypercholesterolemic (an unusually high level of cholesterol in the blood )…

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