836

Quassia indica (Gaertn.) Noot.

Synonym	:	Samadera indica Gaertn.
Family	:	Simaroubaceae
Local name	:	English - Niepa bark tree, Rangoon creeper Malayalam - Njotta, Karinjotta
Flowering and fruiting period	:	Throughout the year
Distribution	:	India, Myanmar and Sri Lanka
Distribution in Kerala	:	Thrissur, Kottayam, Alappuzha, Kollam, Kannur, Kasaragode, Thiruvananthapuram, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Ernakulam.
Habitat	:	Along backwaters and moist deciduous forests
Endemic/Exotic	:	India
Uses	:	It is used for treating anorexia, indigestion, constipation and fever.
Key Botanical Characters: Evergreen tree or shrub, up to 10 m high. Leaves elliptic-oblong, subacute-rounded at base, acute to acuminate at apex. Flowers 20 or more in umbelliform glabrous or puberulous inflorescences. Peduncles stout, flat, thick-above; Pedicels in fruit jointed at base; bracts minute. Calyx 4-lobed; lobes semiorbicular, thick, puberulous outside. Petals 4, free, oblong-oblanceolate, obtuse, dorsally pubescent, white, pale yellow or purplish. Stamens 8, pubescent. Anthers oblong-lanceolate; filaments puberulous. Ovary puberulous; styles glabrous. Drupes 1-4 together, flat, smooth, glandular and reticulate.