Guazuma ulmifolia Lam
| Kannada Name : | Rudraakshi |
| Common Name : | West Indian elm |
| Family Name : | Malvaceae |
| Scientific Name : | Guazuma ulmifolia |
| Species Type : | Exotic |
| Phenology : | Evergreen |
| Conservation Status : | Not known |
| Flowering Period : | All year |
| Fruiting Period : | All year |
| Origin : | Central America, Java |
Uses
It is used in the treatment of diarrhea, hemorrhages, fever, coughs, bronchitis, asthma, gastrointestinal pain and hypertension, and as stimulant for uterine contractions. Dried leaves are brewed into tea in some countries and used for kidney and gastrointestinal diseases, fever, dysentery and diabetes, and externally as an ailment for wounds, skin eruptions and even baldness.
Description
Deciduous tree, up to 25 m tall. Young branches puberulent. Leaves simple, alternate, ovate to lanceolate, membranous to chartaceous, scabrous above, velvety below, base oblique, apex acuminate, margin serrate to dentate. Inflorescence axillary or terminal, thyrsiform cyme. Flowers small, bisexual, brown-yellow color. Fruit a capsule, globose or oblong-ellipsoid, black, tuberculate.
