Common Name: Sweet Indrajao

General Information

Wrightia tinctoria is a deciduous tree; it can grow from 6 - 18 metres tall. The bole can be 20cm in diameter[, ].
The tree is harvested from the wild for local as a medicine and source of a dye and wood. A popular traditional treatment in India, where the plant is harvested in large quantities from the wild and traded[]. The tree is occasionally planted as an ornamental in the tropics[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

E. Asia - India, Bangladesh, Myanmar.

Habitat

Dry, deciduous forests at elevations from 25 - 1,300 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Tree
Height	12.00 m
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Wrightia tinctoria is a plant of arid, semi-arid and moist regions in the tropics, where it can be found at elevations up to 1,200 metres. It is found in areas where the mean annual rainfall is within the range 400 - 2,500mm, and the mean temperature range 17 - 25°c. Plants are intolerant of frost[].
The plant tolerates moderate shading and is often found as undergrowth in deciduous forests. Succeeds in a wide range of soil types, especially dry sandy sites or hillsides and valleys, and also tolerates high uranium levels in the soil[]. Plants are intolerant of drought[].
A slow to moderate-growing plant[].
Plants commence flowering when about 5 - 8 years old[].
The tree responds well to coppicing, and also produces root suckers[].

Edible Uses

The sap has an interesting preservative property since 'if a few drops of sap are added to milk, the milk will remain fresh without the necessity of keeping it on ice, the taste remaining unaltered.'[, ].

The flowers, leaves, fruits and seeds are eaten as vegetable after a thorough washing[, ]. I have some reservations about this report[].

Medicinal

The bark is used in the treatment of dysentery[].
The dried and powdered bark is rubbed over the body in the treatment of dropsy[].
The bark is used in the treatment of piles and skin diseases[].

The seeds are anthelmintic, aphrodisiac, astringent and febrifuge[, , ]. They are used in the treatment of fevers, diarrhoea and dysentery, intestinal worms[].

The leaves are used to relieve toothache when chewed with salt[].
A poultice made from the leaves is used to treat mumps and herpes[].

The leaves and roots are pounded in water for treatment of fever[].

The dried and powdered roots, combined with Phyllanthus amarus and Vitex negundo, are mixed with milk and drunk by women to improve fertility[].

The bark and leaves are used to treat psoriasis, stomach pains, toothache, and dysentery[]

The milky juice is used to stop bleeding[].

The seeds yield a deep red, semi-drying oil, which has medicinal value[].

Other Uses

The seeds, roots and leaves furnish an indigo-yielding glucoside used for dyeing cloth[, , ]. About 100 - 200 kilos of leaves are needed to prepare 1 kilo of dye[].

The seedpods contain a floss that is used for stuffing cushions[].

The cream-coloured latex has a rubber content varying from 2 - 28% that can be exploited commercially[].

The white wood is light in weight, soft and fine-textured. Of high quality, it is in high demand for use in carving and turnery[, , , ]. Carved items are said to resemble ivory in appearance[]. The wood is also used to make implements, furniture, small boxes, toys etc[, ].

Propagation

Seed -

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