Valaka
APORUSA LINDLEYANA
Family – Eyphorbiaceae
Synonyms – Scepa lindleyana W.T
Vernacular names
K – Challe Mara, Sarali Sylla
Tan – Kodali, Vettil, Vetti
M – Kodali, Vetti
Tulu – Saral
San – Valaka
Morphology
Habit – Trees up to 15m hall
Bark – Smooth, shallowly fissured brownish, blaze pink
Branches – Branch lets, terate, glabrous
Leaves – Simple, alternate, spiral, stipules oblong lanceolate, acute
Inflorescena – Flowers unisexual, dioecious
Flower – Male flower – axillary, cat kings
Female flowers – condensed cymes
Fruit & Seed – capsule smooth, globose 2-4 seeded
Ecology – usually in open evergreen to semi evergreen forests up to 950m
Properties
The bark of the plant was shade dried and powdered. The powdered bark was extracted with solvents of increasing polarities.
Official park
Bark
Medicinal uses
The plant is used as traditional medicine for healing skin diseases.
Therapeutic uses
In this plant is used for the diseases like jaundice, fever, leprosy, seminal loss and insanity.
Orgin of plant names
Aporusa (Eyphorbiacae) apo away from “oros” – mountain
Aporusa lindleyana – after John Lindley
(1799 – 1865) – British botanist