Botanical Name : Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb.
Family : Leguminosae (Fabaceaea)
Local Name : Odia : Bija , Piasal, Hindi : Bijasal, Bengali : Pitshal, Sanskrit : Murga, Telugu : Yegi
                       Malayalam : Venga, Tamil : Vengai, Kannada : Honne
Habitat : Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb. is a large deciduous tree commonly found in hilly region of India.
Distribution : India (Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Orissa, Tamilnadu, Uttar Pradesh), Nepal, Sri-Lanka.
Flowering & Fruiting time : April-July & August-October
Conservation Status : Endangered

Description
Habit : Tree
Leaf : Leaves are compound with 5 to 7 leaflets. Leaflets are oblong or elliptical with rounded or obtuse or retuse ends, glaucous beneath, secondary nerves close and parallel, over 12 cm each side.
Flower : Flower yellow, up to 1.2 cm long, corolla papilionaceous, exserted beyond calyx, Stamen 10, split in 2 bundles.
Fruit: Legume indehiscent, orbicular, compressed, broadly hardened winged around margin, usually single seeded, seeds subreniform, hilum small.

Uses

Pterocarpus marsupium is one of the valuable multipurpose forest tree that yield excellent timber for the national & international trade market. Wood is used for building furniture, agricultural and railway purpose .

Wood: The heartwood is used as an ointment to astringent, bitter, acrid, cooling, anti-inflammatory, union promoter, depurative, urinary astringent, haemostatic, asthelmintic, constipating, anodyne alterant and rejuvenation. It is also useful in elephantiasis, inflammations, fractures bruises, leprosy,

skin disease, leucoderma, erysipelas urethrorrhoea, diabetes, rectalgia, rectitis, opthalmopathy, diarrhea, dysentery, cough, asthma, bronchitis and greyness of hair.

Leaves: The leaf paste is used as an ointment to treat skin diseases, sores and boils.

Flower: The flower is used as appetizing and febrifuge and also taken to treat anorexia and fever.

Gum-resin: The gum is taken to treat bitter, styptic, vulnerary, antipyretic, anthelmintic and liver tonic. It is useful in spasmodic gastralgia, boils, gleet, urethrorrhoea, odontalgia, diarrhea, psoriasis, wound and ulcers, helminthasis, fevers,hepatopathy and ophthalmia.

Some facts:

Pterocarpus marsupium is a plant drug belonging to a group called Rasayana in Ayurvedic system of medicine. These Rasayana drugs are immunomodulators and relieve stress in the body. In India kannada peoples are used to make a wooden tumbler from the heartwood. Water is left overnight in the wooden tumbler and is consumed in the next morning to cure diabetes. Kol tribes in Odisha pound a paste mixture of the bark of P. marsupium with the bark of Mangifera indica, Shorea robusta

& Spondias pinnata to treat some dysentery illness. The gum resin of this plant is the only herbal product ever found that regenerate beta cells that produce insulin in pancreas.

Source :

 Saxsena, H.O. & Brahmam, M. (1994). The Flora of Orissa, Vol. I, pp: 574.

 Sharma P.C.; Yelne M.B.; Dennis T.J. (2005 ).Database on Medicinal Plants Used in Ayurveda,

Vol.3, pp: 32-33.

 Sharma R.(2003). Medicinal plants of India-An encyclopedia, pp: 206.

 Swain B.K & Das S.K. (2007) Visual guide to wild medicinal plants of Orissa ,pp: 37.

 www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterocarpus_marsupium.

Azadirachta indica A Juss - An incredible Medicinal Plant

Botanical Name : Azadirachta indica A Juss. Synonyms : Melia azadirachta L.
Family : Meliaceae
Local Name : Odia : Limba, Neem, Hindi : Neem, English: The Neem Tree, Telugu : Yapa, Vepa
Bengali : Neem
Habitat: Very commonly planted and found in forest.
Distribution:  India, Bhutan, Indonesia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam; tropical Australia, Pacific islands (Solomon Islands). Myanmar, China.
Flowering time: February-May Fruiting time: June-July
Conservation Status:  Not yet evaluated


Description
Habit : Tree
Leaf : Leaves 20-38 cm; leaflets 5-9 pairs, obliquely lanceolate, 2.5-7.5×1.2-3.7 cm, inequilaterally, sometimes falcate, serrate, acuminate, glabrous, base cuneate, oblique; petiolules 2 mm
Flower: - Flowers white, fragrant, 7.5 mm across. Staminal tube 5 mm long.
Fruit: - Drupeellipsoid,1.2- 1.8 cm long,y e l l o w , glabrous.

Uses
The whole plant part viz. bark, root, fruits, seed, flowers, leaves etc is medicinally important and used in various other proposes. Twig : Rural people in India use the twigs as toothbrush. It is quite effective in reducing plaque and gingival inflammation. Bark : The bark is widely used as an antiperiodic, vulnerary, lever tonic, expectorant, urinary astringent, anthelmintic, pectoral and also very useful in hyperdispia, eczema, pruritus, malarial fevers, wounds, ulcers, burning sensation,
tumor, vomiting, intestinal worms, cough, bronchitis, diabetes, inflammation, haemorrhoids, Syphilis and fatigue. Leaves: The leaves are bitter, astringent, acrid, depurative, antiseptic, ophthalmic, appetizer, insecticidal, demulcent & refrigerant. They are useful in burning sensation, leprosy,
skin diseases, leucoderma, intestinal worms, dyspepepsia & general debility. The leaves are burnt to keep away mosquitoes and also leaf powder are used as a facial cream. Flower: The flowers are eaten as a vegetable in India. It is believed to be good for one’s health. Seed: The seeds are uterine stimulant & urinary astringent. They are useful in tumors, leprosy, skin diseases, intestinal worms, wounds, ulcers and diabetes. The Neem oil is bitter, anthelmintic and depurative. It is also used for preparing cosmetics such as soap, shampoo, facial creams etc.

Mythological importance :  In Odisha the oldest and world famous Jagannath temple deity
Daru Brahma, the mystic expression of Lord in wood (Lord Jagannath, Sri Balabhadra
and Devi Subhadra ) are made up of Neem heart wood.




Source
 Saxsena, H.O. & Brahmam, M. (1994). The Flora of Orissa, Vol. I, pp: 273– 274.
 Sharma P.C.; Yelne M.B.; Dennis T.J. (2005 ). Database on Medicinal Plants Used in Ayurveda,
Vol.1, pp: 47-50.
 www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Azadirachta india