Contributor: Pankaj Oudhia
Copyright (c) 2002. All Rights Reserved. Quotation from this document should cite and acknowledge the contributor.
English Name: White Marudah
Common (Indian) Names
Hindi: Arjun, Arjuna, Koha, Kahu, Arjan
Gujrati: Arjun - Sadada, Sadado
Canarese: Bili-Holo-Nir-Tora Matti, Maddi
Marathi: Arjuna, Arjun Sadada, Sadura
Sanskrit: Arjuna, Dhanvi, Indradruma, Kakubha, Karvirak.
Oriya: Arjuna, Sahajo
Tamil: Vellamatta
Telugu: Yerra maddi
Assam: Orjun
Bengali: Arjhan
Punjabi: Arjuna
Family: Combretaceae
Botany: Tree up to 25 meter hight; bark grey, smooth; leaves sub-opposite, 5–14 × 2–4.5 cm., oblong or elliptic oblong, glabrous, often inequilateral, margin often crenulate, apex obtuse or sub-acute, base rounded or sometimes cordate; petioles 0.5–1.2cm; glands usually two. Flowers small, white. Fruit 2.3–3.5 cm long, fibrous woody, glabrous with 5 hard wings, striated with numerous curved veins. Flowering time April–July in Indian conditions. Seeds hard germination 50–76 days (50–60%)
Related Species: The genus Terminalia consist large hard wooded trees. Over 100 species widely distributed in the tropices (Terminalia originated from Latin ward Terminus, alluding to the leaves being borne on the tips of the shoots). In India, Terminalia chebula, T. bellrica and T. ciliata are major related species.
Distribution: Common in almost every part of India. Grows well along bank of streams, rivers, ravines, dry water courses, reaching very large sizes on fertile alluvial loam.
Useful Parts: Every parts useful medicinal properties Arjun holds a reputed position in both Ayurvedic and Yunani Systems of medicine. According to Ayurveda it is alexiteric, styptic, tonic, anthelmintic, and useful in fractures, uclers, heart diseases, biliousness, urinary discharges, asthma, tumours, leucoderma, anaemia, excessive prespiration etc. According to Yunani system of medicine, it is used both externally and internally in gleet and urinary discharges. It is used as expectorant, aphrodisiac, tonic and diuretic.
Ayurvedic Formulations: Arujanarishta, Arjunghrita, Arjunakhsirpak, Arvindasava, Devadarvy - arishta etc.
Other Uses: Recommended for reclamation of saline, alkaline soils and deep ravines. Used for agro and social forestry. Timber is locally used for carts, agricultural implements, water troughs, traps, boat building, house building, electric poles, tool-handles, jetty-piles and plywood. Fodder is useful for tassar silkworm. It is one of the major tannin yielding trees. Bark (22–24%), leaf (10–11%) and fruit (7–20%) contains tannins.
Chemical Constituens: A glucoside - arjunetin - has been isolated from bark. Recently new flavance - arjunone has been isolated from fruits alongs with cerasidin, b-sitosterol, friedlin, methyl oleanolate, gallic, ellagic and arjunic acids.
Artificial Propagation: It can be artificially propagated through seeds, coppicing, pollarding, root-suckers, stumps and air-layering. It is initially slow-growing but later fast-growing. It attains 2–3 m height in 3 years. Arjun yields up to 45 kg dry bark chips on a three year cycle without injury.
Resource Person:
Pankaj Oudhia
Society for Parthenium Management, (SOPAM)
28-A, College Road, Geeta Nagar
Raipur- 492001 India
E-mail: pankajoudhia@usa.net
Homepage: www.celestine-india.com/pankajoudhia
Phone: 91-771-253243
Mobile: 91-98271-15642
Fax: 91-771-536312