Terminalia paniculata
Terminalia paniculata Roth
Family : Combretaceae
Common Name : മരുത് (Mal)
: अर्जुन फैमिली (Hin)
: Kindal Tree (Eng)
It is a tropical tree with a large natural distribution in Western Ghats. The tree has diverging branches. Leaves are nearly opposite, elliptic-oblong, heart-shaped at the base, sharp at the tip. Flowers occur in spiked forming a compound panicle. Fruit has one large and two small wings. It is the fruits, rather than the flowers, which make the tree more colorful. The tree is extensively utilized in pharmaceutical, timber tannin, leather and silk industries. It is a tall tree. Timber very useful for ship building & is used as substitute for teak. Fruits are used for tanning & dyeing. In winter, the tree may be partially leafless.
Deciduous trees, to 30 m high, bark surface brown, rough; young parts silky pubescent. Leaves simple, lower leaves subopposite, upper alternate, 10-24 x 5-10 cm, elliptic, oblong, ovate, elliptic-oblong or ovate-oblong, apex acute or acuminate, base round, obtuse, cordate or oblique, margin entire, pubescent when young, 2 sessile glands beneath the base of the lamina; lateral nerve 5-15 pairs, prominent, arched towards the margin, intercostae obscure; petiole 12-15 mm long, stout. Flowers bisexual, white, sessile, 6-12 mm across, in axillary and terminal panicles, tomentose; bracteoles 2-5 mm, linear-lanceolate, recurved. Calyx tube 1-1.2 x 0.8-1 mm, constricted above the ovary, pubescent, lobes 5, cream, triangular, villous within. Petals 0. Stamens 10 in 2 rows; filaments 3-4 mm; disc 5-lobed, villous. Ovary 1 mm, inferior, 1-celled; ovules 2 or 3, pendulous; style to 4 mm, subulate, stigma terminal. Fruit a drupe 13 x 12 mm, reddish-brown, rusty tomentose, with one large and 2 small wings; seed one.
Use: Bark and fruits are used for dying and tanning. The bark is said to be diuretic and cardio tonic. Timber used in constructions as beams, scantlings etc.
Distribution : Peninsular India (Endemic)
Flowering & Fruiting : August-February