Plant of the Month
GODDAGERU
Some Scientific Facts
Name: Semecarpous anacardium
Family: Anacardiaceae
Plant Distribution: Sub-Himalayan tract from the Bias eastwards, ascending into the outer hills upto 3500 ft. Assam Khasia hills, Chittagong, Central India and Western Peninsula, South Asia, Australia.
Habitat: A moderate/medium sized tree, with rough dark brown bark.
Habitat
Root:
Leaves: Simple, obovate-oblong, round at the apex, cordate at base, coriaceous, glabrous above, ashy-grey more or less pubescent beneath and with cartilaginous margins, Petioles present.
The Leaves
Stem: Bark rough, ashbrown coloured;
The Stem
Flowers: greenish-white/yellowish, sub-sessile, fascicled in pubescent panicles, unisexual, in terminal, hairy panicles. Female panicles shorter than males, pedicel short, bracts-lanceolate, pilose. Calyx segments about 1mm long, pilose outside. Petals 4-5mm long by 2mm. broad, ovate, acute. Ovary in the male flowers rudimentary, hairy. In female sub-globose, densely pilose, crowned with 3 styles.
Flowers
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Sri Ramakrishna
A Pandit: The Theosophists say that there are 'Mahatmas'. They also say that there are different planes and spheres like astral plane, Devayanic plane, solar sphere, lunar sphere etc., and that man's subtle body can go to all these places. They say many other such things. Sir, what is your opinion on Theosophy?
The Master: Bhakti alone is supreme-Bhakti or devotion to God. Do they care for Bhakti? If they do, that is well. It is well if they have God-realisation for their aim and goal. But remember, to be engrossed in such trivial things as solar sphere, lunar sphere, astral sphere etc., is not genuine search after God. One has to do Sadhanas (spiritual practices) in order to get devotion to His lotus feet; one has to weep for Him with the intense longing of the heart. The mind should be gathered up from the different objects and concentrated exclusively on Him. He is not in the Vedas or Vedanta or in any scripture. Nothing will be achieved unless one's heart yearns for Him. One has to pray to Him with intense devotion, and practise Sadhanas. God cannot be realised so easily. Sadhanas are necessary.
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Common Names :
Kannada : Goddugeru, Agnimukhi, Bhallataka
Sanskrit: Agnika, Dhanurvriksha
Hindi : Belatak, Bilaran, Bheyla
Tamil : Vakkanai, Vakkanathan, Vellaittuvarai
Malayalam : Chera, Kampira
Telugu : Bhallataki, Gudova
English : Common marking nut tree, Oriental cashew-nut
Fruits: Drupes, 2.5 cm long., globose, long, obliquely ovoid or oblong, smooth and shining, black when ripe, seated on a fleshy receptacle or hypocarp about 2 cm long, smooth and yellow when ripe.
Fruits
Bio-Chemical Usage
Chemical composition: Fruit contains biflavones, bhilwanol,. Nuts contain biflavones binaringenin, tetrahydrobustaflavone, tetra-hydro-amentoflavone; nutshell contains biflavonone- semecarpuflavonone, semecarpetin, jeediflavonone,galluflavonone, nallaflavonone. Kernel contains semidrying oil, glycoside.
Medicinal uses:
Tree exudes a gum resin used in leprosy and nervous debility.
Fruit is acrid, hot, digestible, aphrodisiac, anthelmintic, removes kapha skin diseases, piles dysentery, fever, loss of appetite, dysentery, heals ulcers, strengthens teeth, useful in insanity, urinary discharges, used in ascites, rheumatism, asthama, neuralgia, epilepsy and psoriasis and also for warts and tumors, carcinoma of the naso-pharynx ; extracts also show hypo-glyceamic action.
Siddha : Fruit, seed- leprosy, tuberculosis, poisoning, diseases of vatam, piles, skin diseases, leucoderma, glandular swellings, arthritis, carcinoma, rejuvenator.
Ayurveda: Fruit Worm infestation, stomachic, laxative, cures vata, bronchitis, ulcers, ascites, abdominal disorders, piles, sprue, leprosy, arthritis, polyuria, fever, leucoderma.
The sweet fruit is carminative, weakness and paralysis, the smoke from the burning pericarp is good for tumors. The oil is anthelmentic, makes hair black and nervous diseases.
Spurting Bud
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