Sauropus androgynus
(L.) Merr. in Forest. Bur. Philipp. Bull. 1: 30. 1903; Kanjilal et al.,
Fl. Assam 4: 172. 1940; Chakrab. & M.Gangop. in J. Econ. Taxon. Bot. 20: 519, f. 1 G - J. 1996.
Clutia androgyna L., Mant. Pl. 1: 128. 1767. Sauropus albicans Blume, Bijdr. Fl. Ned. Ind. 596.
1826; Hook.f., Fl. Brit. India 5: 332. 1887. S. lanceolatus Hook.f., l. c. 333. 1887; Kanjilal et al., l.
c. 173. 1940. S. oblongifolius Hook.f., l. c. 333. 1887; Kanjilal et al., l. c. 172. 1940.
Kan.: Chekor-manis; Kh.: Dieng-soh-pit; Lep.: Sentungrung.
Shrubs, up to 3 m high, entirely glabrous. Leaves ovate, ovate-oblong to ovate-lanceolate or triangular-ovate to triangular-lanceolate, acute, obtuse to rounded at base, caudate-acuminate, acute, obtuse, rounded or apiculate at apex, 3 - 12 x 0.5 - 3.5 cm, membranous, penninerved or occasionally weakly trinerved at base; lateral nerves 4 - 8 pairs; petioles 1 - 3.5 mm long; stipules linear-lanceolate, 1.5 – 4 mm long. Male flowers: pedicels 7 - 18 mm long; calyx flat, discoid, 3 - 13 mm in diam., almost unlobed, usually entire or repand or sometimes irregularly and shallowly 4 - 6-fid, stiff; anthers ca 0.5 mm long, horizontal. Female flowers: pedicels 5 - 8 mm long; calyx 5 - 8 mm in diam.; segments obovate, orbicular to flabellate, 1.5 - 4 x 1.2 - 3 mm, rounded or occasionally slightly undulate at apex; ovary turbinate, 1.5 - 2 mm in diam.; styles ca 1.2 mm long, bifid, recurved. Fruits depressed to subglobose, rarely sub-pyriform, unlobed, 5 - 10 (- 15) x 10 - 15 (- 20) mm, inflated, thin; pedicels 7 - 20 mm long.
Fl. & Fr. July - Jan.
Distrib. India: Tropical and subtropical primary evergreen forests, up to 1500 m altitude. West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, China, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malay Peninsula, Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Celebes, Moluccas and New Guinea.
Uses. The leaves are rich in Vitamins A, B and C, almost 3 - 4 times more than in mangoes and papayas. Protein content in the leaves are 6 - 8 per cent. They are also rich in phosphorous and iron. The leaves and tender leaves taste like fresh garden peas, and can be consumed raw in salads or cooked in dal, curries, rice, chapattis, dosas, idlis and uttappams. The flowers and fruits are also edible.
Pounded leaves and roots form a poultice used in ulcers of nose. A decoction of the roots is supposed to be very good in fever and stricture of bladder.
Notes. Pollen periporate, sexine reticulate. D = 31 µm (28 to 33). (Tissot, Chikki & Nayar, Pollen of Wet Evergreen Forests of Western Ghats, India. Publ. du depart. D’ecologie, Inst. Francias de Pondichery, Pondicherry).
Shrubs, up to 3 m high, entirely glabrous. Leaves ovate, ovate-oblong to ovate-lanceolate or triangular-ovate to triangular-lanceolate, acute, obtuse to rounded at base, caudate-acuminate, acute, obtuse, rounded or apiculate at apex, 3 - 12 x 0.5 - 3.5 cm, membranous, penninerved or occasionally weakly trinerved at base; lateral nerves 4 - 8 pairs; petioles 1 - 3.5 mm long; stipules linear-lanceolate, 1.5 – 4 mm long. Male flowers: pedicels 7 - 18 mm long; calyx flat, discoid, 3 - 13 mm in diam., almost unlobed, usually entire or repand or sometimes irregularly and shallowly 4 - 6-fid, stiff; anthers ca 0.5 mm long, horizontal. Female flowers: pedicels 5 - 8 mm long; calyx 5 - 8 mm in diam.; segments obovate, orbicular to flabellate, 1.5 - 4 x 1.2 - 3 mm, rounded or occasionally slightly undulate at apex; ovary turbinate, 1.5 - 2 mm in diam.; styles ca 1.2 mm long, bifid, recurved. Fruits depressed to subglobose, rarely sub-pyriform, unlobed, 5 - 10 (- 15) x 10 - 15 (- 20) mm, inflated, thin; pedicels 7 - 20 mm long.
Fl. & Fr. July - Jan.
Distrib. India: Tropical and subtropical primary evergreen forests, up to 1500 m altitude. West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, China, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malay Peninsula, Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Celebes, Moluccas and New Guinea.
Uses. The leaves are rich in Vitamins A, B and C, almost 3 - 4 times more than in mangoes and papayas. Protein content in the leaves are 6 - 8 per cent. They are also rich in phosphorous and iron. The leaves and tender leaves taste like fresh garden peas, and can be consumed raw in salads or cooked in dal, curries, rice, chapattis, dosas, idlis and uttappams. The flowers and fruits are also edible.
Pounded leaves and roots form a poultice used in ulcers of nose. A decoction of the roots is supposed to be very good in fever and stricture of bladder.
Notes. Pollen periporate, sexine reticulate. D = 31 µm (28 to 33). (Tissot, Chikki & Nayar, Pollen of Wet Evergreen Forests of Western Ghats, India. Publ. du depart. D’ecologie, Inst. Francias de Pondichery, Pondicherry).
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