Holoptealea integrifolia

Holoptealea integrifolia

Know our Plant

Systematic Classification:

Division   : Angiospermae
Class      : Dicotyledons
Order      : Rosales
Family     : Ulmaceae
Genus      : Holoptelea
Species    : H. integrifolia

Common Name:

Aaval

General Information:

It is arge deciduous trees, to 25 m high, bark 6-8 mm thick, whitish-grey, smooth; blaze yellowish-grey, streaked with light brown; branchlets pubescent. Leaves simple, alternate; stipules lateral, scarious; petiole 5-10 mm, stout, pubescent; lamina 6-12.5 x 2.5-6.5 cm, ovate-oblong, ovate or elliptic-ovate, base rounded or subcordate, apex acuminate, margin entire, distantly serrate when young, coriaceous, glabrous above, appressed pubescent punctate below; lateral nerves 6-9 pairs, pinnate, prominent, intercostae reticulate, prominent. Flowers polygamous, appear before leaves, 5-8 mm across, greenish-purple, in axillary fascicles; tepals 4 or 5, free, anthers pubescent; female flowers with longer pedicels; ovary superior, compressed, long stipitate, 2-winged, 1-celled, ovule 1; style 2 fid. Fruit a samara, 3 cm across, orbicular, wings nerved, glabrous, seed one.

Economic Importance:

  • The plant Holoptelea integrifolia is used traditionally for the treatment of inflammation, gastritis, dyspepsia, colic, intestinal worms, vomiting, wound healing, leprosy, diabetes, hemorrhoids, dysmenorrhea, and rheumatism. Bark and leaves are used as bitter, astringent, thermogenic, anti-inflammatory, digestive, carminative, laxative, anthelmintic, depurative, repulsive, and urinary astringent. Ethnomedicinally, the leaves and stem bark of H. integrifolia are used by tribal people for the treatment of various ailments. The mucilaginous bark is boiled and the juice squeezed out and applied to rheumatic swellings. Paste of the stem bark is externally applied to treat the inflammation of lymph glands, ringworm, and scabies.
  • It is used for timber which makes cheap furniture and also used as firewood in rural parts.