Diospyros candolleana Wt.

Systematic Classification:

Division	: Angiospermae
Class		: Dicotyledons
Family		: Ebenaceae	
Genus		: Diospyros
Species	        : candolleana

Common Name:

Karimaram

General Information:

Trees up to 20 m tall. Bark smooth, dark; blaze reddish.Branchlets terete, adpressed hairs when young.Leaves simple, alternate, distichous; petiole to 0.6-1.1 cm long, canaliculate, hairy when young, glabrous when mature; lamina to 6-18 x 3.5-7.5 cm, oblong to elliptic-oblong, apex gradually acuminate with blunt tip, sometimes obtuse, base acute to cuneate, margin entire, coriaceous, glabrous, drying brown; midrib canaliculate above; secondary nerves 8-13 pairs, not prominent; tertiary nerves obscure. Flowers unisexual, dioecious; male flowers in axillary clusters on very short tubercles, silky tomentose; female flowers sessile, in axillary clusters. Berry, globose, to 2.5 cm across, glabrous when mature; calyx persistent, lobes reflexed with wavy margin; seeds 4.

Economic Importance:

• The fruits are edible. The yellow pulp is soft and sweet. The olive green fruit is ovoid or globose 3 – 4 cm across.
• The seeds can be intoxicating; they have been prescribed in India as a cure for mental disorders, nervous breakdowns and palpitations of the heart.
• The fruits have a cooling and an astringent effect.
• The dried flowers are reportedly useful in urinary, skin and blood diseases.
• The bark is astringent. A decoction is used in the treatment of diarrhoea.