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Berberis leschenaultii

Wall. ex Wight & Arn.

iNaturalist· cc0

no rights reserved

iNaturalist· cc0

no rights reserved

iNaturalist· cc-by

(c) Sagnik Dutta Roy, some rights reserved (CC BY)

Description

A shrub. It grows 4 m high. The small branches have leaf bases that remain attached to the branch. The leaves have an even number of leaflets. The leaves are 30 cm long by 10 cm wide and there are usually about 6 pairs of leaflets. The leaflets are 8 cm long by 5 cm wide. There are spiny teeth along the edge. The flower have yellow petals. The fruit are round berries 8 mm across. They have one seed. The become dark blue when ripe.

Edible Uses

The ripe berries are eaten raw.

Traditional Uses

The fruit are eaten raw.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Distribution

It is a tropical plant. It grows in the hills above 1,500 m above sea level in India.

Where It Grows

Asia, Australia, India,

Synonyms

Mahonia leschenaultii (Wall. ex Wight & Arn.) Takeda

Also Known As

Holy leaf berberis of Nilgiri, Mullu murungai keerai

References (4)

  • Dobriyal, M. J. R. & Dobriyal, R., 2014, Non Wood Forest Produce an Option for Ethnic Food and Nutritional Security in India. Int. J. of Usuf. Mngt. 15(1):17-37
  • Karthi, Sathya, & Salome, 2014, Uncultivated Edible Greens from Small Millet Farms Tamil Nadu India. IDRC (As Mahonia leschenaultii )
  • Karuppusamy, S., et al, 2011, Antioxidant activity of selected lesser known edible fruits from Western Ghats, of India. Indian Journal of Natural Products and resources. 2(2): 174-178
  • Sasi, R. & Rajendran, A., 2012, Diversity of Wild Fruits in Nilgiri Hills of the Southern Western Ghats - Ethnobotanical Aspects. IJABPT, 3(1) p 82-87

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