Croton bonplandianus - Ban tulsi

❏ Binomial Name : Croton bonplandianus Baill.

❏ Synonym : Croton sparsiflorus,Croton pauperulus,Oxydectes sparsiflora

❏ Family : Euphorbiaceae

❏ Common Name : Ban tulsi

❏ Tamil Name : Reilpoondu

❏ Hindi Name : Kala Bhangra

❏ IUCN status: Not Evaluated

Croton bonplandianus Botanical Description

An undershrub, attaining upto 45 cm high, densely branched; stem round, hard, green, with 10-12 vertical lined white dotted glands, tri or tetracotomous branching where from middle point inflorescence developed vertically; bract 1, below the female flower, green, hairy, ca. 0.15 cm, finely serrete; leaves alternate or opposite, lanceolate or sub-lanceolate, lamina ca. 4.5 x 1.6 cm, 4-5 pairs of 10 veins, margin serrete, adaxially dark green, shiny, abaxially pale green, sparsely pubescent, apex 2-3 pointed, like a tail of fish, base sub-cordate, petioled, white dotted, 0.5-0.7 cm long; inflorescence terminal, with unisexual flower, male flower upward, female flower below, ca. 7.4 cm long, peduncle 0.2 cm diameter; male flower: ca. 0.4 x 0.4 cm, pedicelled, ca. 0.2-0.3 cm long; calyx 5, 0.1 cm long, green, brownish at tip; corolla 5, bright, membranous; stamens 14-15, 0.3 cm long, white; glands 5, red, arranged circular, which is seen after removal of anthers; female flowers: ca. 0.4 cm long, with distinct ovary, green; calyx 5, 0.2 cm long, green, sparsely pubescent; style 3, 0.2 cm long, pink, tip brown, deeply bipartite, connate at the base, persistant, horizontal; fruits deep green with white dotted glands, 3 cocci, 0.7 cm long, 0.5 cm diameter, pedicel 0.15 cm long; seeds 3, sometimes one become abortive, 0.5 cm long, 0.3 cm diameter, abortive seed 0.2-0.25 cm long, young seeds are white, with distinct caruncle, brown colouration below the caruncle, black on matured, hard with white endosperm. Fl. &Fr.: throughout the year.

Croton bonplandianus Medicinal uses

❀ Leaf paste is applied for the skin diseases

❀ Then the ash is put in warm water and used as a detergents for cleaning cotton garments.

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