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Carissa carandas L.

Synonym	:	Carissa carandas var. congesta (Wight) Bedd.
Family	:	Apocynaceae
Local name	:	English- Crane Berry Malayalam- Kalachedi, Klavu, Karakka
Flowering and fruiting period	:	Flowering : March-April, Fruiting : May-October
Distribution	:	Indo-Malesia
Distribution in Kerala	:	All Districts
Habitat	:	Common in plains and scrub jungles along river banks upto 900m.Dry deciduous forests, also grown in homesteads
Endemic/Exotic	:	Endemic
Uses	:	Its fruit is used in the ancient Indian herbal system of medicine, Ayurvedic, to treat acidity, indigestion, fresh and infected wounds, skin diseases, urinary disorders and diabetic ulcer, as well as biliousness, stomach pain, constipation, anemia, skin conditions. The roots serve as a stomachic, an anthelmintic medicine for itches and also as insect repellents.
Key botanical characters: Armed shrubs, latex milky, dichotomously branched, spines forked at apex, 4.5 cm. Leaves 6 x 3.5 cm, elliptic-oblong, apex obtuse or emarginate, subcoriaceous; petiole to 0.5 cm. Cymes axillary and terminal, corymbose, puberulus; flowers white; calyx 5-lobed, 2.5 mm ,ovate, , aristate; corolla hypocrateriform, tube 2 cm, pubescent, twisted, 7 x 3 mm, ovate, pubescent; stamens 2.5 mm, obtuse, mucronate, sessile; ovary 1 mm, stigma fusiform, twisted. Berry 2.5 cm across, black when ripe.