Cerbera odollam Gaertn.
| Kannada Name : | Chande, Chendu hoovu |
| Common Name : | Pong pong tree |
| Family Name : | Apocynaceae |
| Scientific Name : | Cerbera odollam |
| Species Type : | Indigenous |
| Phenology : | Evergreen |
| Conservation Status : | Least concern |
| Flowering Period : | January- March |
| Fruiting Period : | Feburary- April |
| Origin : | South Asia, India |
Uses
The leaves are used externally to treat ringworm. A leaf decoction is added to an aromatic bath after childbirth. The oil is applied externally to treat scabies and is used as a hair tonic that also kills head lice .The fruits are used for manufacturing bioinsecticides and deodorants.
Description
Small evergreen tree, up to 6 m tall, bark greenish-brown, latex milky. Leaves simple, alternate, crowned at the tip of branches, lanceolate or oblanceolate, glabrous, base cuneate or attenuate, apex acuminate or acute, margin entire. Inflorescence a pseudoterminal cyme. Flowers bisexual, white. tube funnel-shaped. Fruit a drupe, globose or ellipsoid, green, rosy when ripe; seeds 1-2.
