Grewia tiliifolia

Grewia tiliifolia (syn. Grewia damine) is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae sensu lato. A tree reaching 8 m (26 ft), it is found in monsoon and intermediate forest gaps and fringes of Sri Lanka, where the plant is known as "daminiya" in Sinhala and "chadachchi" in Tamil. It is also found in Pakistan (Sind, Punjab), India (Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Peninsula), Nepal and Southeast Asia. Grewia tiliifolia is used in traditional medicine, using bark and roots for fractures, diarrhoea and skin diseases. Its wood is used for tool handles. The fruit is edible.

Description

A shrub or small tree. It grows 5-8 m tall. They young parts are covered with star shaped hairy scales. The leaves are 7-20 cm long by 6-12 cm wide. They are oval with a pointed tip. The two halves of the leaf blade are unequal. The edge has teeth. They are hairy below. The base is rounded or heart shaped. There are 5-7 veins. The fruit are yellowish. They occur in large clusters of 10-12. The fruit is fleshy with a hard covering over the seed. The fruit has 3-4 lobes and is blackish. They are pea sized.

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw. An agreeable, acid flavour, but a lot of seeds and little pulp. The black, globose fruit is about the size of a pea. The fruit is a good source of micronutrients such as anthocyanins, phenols, flavonoids and vitamin C. They have a moderate antioxidant activity and make an excellent, healthful addition to the diet

Traditional Uses

The tender leaves are eaten. The ripe fruit are eaten raw.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

The fruit is antioxidant. A thick mucilage can be extracted from the bark and this, combined with the powdered seed of Panicum miliaceun, is taken as a remedy for dysentery. The bark is used to heal wounds, cure kapha, vata, burning sensation, throat complaints, biliousness and diseases of the nose and blood. It is also used in the treatment of dysentery, and is employed externally to remove the irritation from cow-itch. The powdered wood is emetic and is used as an antidote to opium poisoning. An ethanolic extract of the aerial parts has shown CNS depressant and diuretic activity while that of stem bark exhibited spermic and hypotensive activity.

Distribution

It is a tropical plant. They are common in Western India. In southern China it grows in open woodland and grassland between 600-1,600 m above sea level. In Yunnan.

Where It Grows

Africa, Asia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, East Africa, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Northeastern India, SE Asia, Thailand, Vietnam,

Cultivation

A plant of the moist, lowland tropics and subtropics, where it is found at elevations up to 900 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 30 - 42°c, but can tolerate 7 - 47°c. Mature plants can be killed by temperatures of -5°c or lower, but young growth will be severely damaged at -1°c. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,000 - 2,500mm, but tolerates 750 - 4,000mm. Succeeds in full sun and light shade. Succeeds in a range of well-drained soils. Prefers a pH in the range 6 - 6.5, tolerating 5.5 - 7.

Propagation

Seed - we have no specific information for this species but seed of this genus is generally best sown as soon as it is ripe. Stored seed has a hard seedcoat and may benefit from scarification before sowing in order to speed up and improve germination. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!), allowing the mix to cool somewhat and then leaving it in a warm place to soak for 12 - 24 hours. Sow the seeds in situ or in a nursery seedbed or trays - do not allow the compost to become dry. Germination and early growth are usually quite quick. Cuttings - best taken with a heel.

Other Uses

A fibre from the inner bark is used to make cordage. The brown heartwood is in a thin layer; the sapwood is white. The wood is close-grained, hard. It is used for shafts, shoulder poles, masts, golf clubs, tool handles, oars and all purposes for which elasticity, strength and toughness are required.

Production

In southern India plants flower and fruit February to June.

Notes

There are about 200 Grewia species. They are mostly tropical. The fruit of most may be edible. These were in the Sparrmanniaceae and the Tiliaceae.

Nutrition

Also Known As

Butale, Chadachi, Chadicha, Charachi, Dahi-bhat, Dalmon, Daman, Dhaman, Dhamana, Dhamasi, Dhamin, Dhamni, Dhamuro, Dhanuvriksha, Dhomoni, Ettatada, Jhujhana, Kakai, Kharmati, Khesla rodgei, Lumma, Pharsa, Pholsa, Pin-ta-yaw, Rodaga, Sadachi, Ta-yaw, Thadsal, Unnam, Unnu, Valukkaimaram

References (30)

• Ajesh, T. P., et al, 2012, Ethnobotanical Documentation of Wild Edible Fruits used by Muthuvan Tribes of Idukki, Kerala-India. International Journal of Pharma and Bio Sciences 3(3): 479-487
• Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 250
• Arinathan, V., et al, 2007, Wild edibles used by Palliyars of the western Ghats, Tamil Nadu. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge. 6(1) pp 163-168
• Bajpai, O., et al, 2015, Tree species of the Himalayan Terai region of Uttar Pradesh, India: a checklist. Check List 11(4): 1718
• Bandana, P. & Debabrata, P., 2015, Wild Edible Plant Diversity and its Ethno-medicinal use by Indigenous Tribes of Koraput, Odisha, India. Research Journal of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences. Vol. 3(9), 1-10, October (2015)

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