Neolamarckia cadamba (Roxb.) Bosser

Scientific Name: Neolamarckia cadamba (Roxb.) Bosser

Family: Rubiaceae

Common Name: Kadamba Tree

Hindi Name: कदम्ब

Description: Trees, deciduous, to 30 m tall; trunk with small buttresses; bark thin, grayish brown, fissured and scabrous when old; branches horizontally spreading, flattened becoming subterete, glabrescent. Petiole 20-35 mm, glabrous; leaf blade drying thinly leathery, elliptic or oblong-elliptic, on juvenile growth 50-60 × 15-30 cm, on adult growth 15-25 × 7-12 cm, adaxially shiny and glabrous, abaxially glabrous to densely puberulent, base shallowly cordate on juvenile growth, rounded or truncate on adult growth, apex acute; secondary veins 8-12 pairs, apparently without domatia; stipules lanceolate, 12-20 mm, acute. Inflorescences with peduncle 2-4 cm, rather stout; flowering heads 35-45 mm across calyces, 40-60 mm across corollas. Calyx puberulent to pilosulous; ovary portion ellipsoid to obovoid, ca. 1.5 mm; limb 3-4 mm, partially to deeply lobed; lobes oblong to spatulate, obtuse to rounded. Corolla yellowish white, funnelform, outside glabrous; tube ca. 10 mm; lobes lanceolate, ca. 2.5 mm. Fruiting heads yellowish green, 30-40 mm in diam., with peduncles markedly thickened. Fruit cylindrical to ellipsoid or obovoid, 2-2.5 × ca. 1 mm, glabrous; seeds 3-angled, 0.5-0.7 mm. Fl. and fr. Jun-Nov.

Economic Importance:

It is being exploited for paper, pulp, and wood industry.

Medicinal Importance:

It is used in the treatment of various ailments such as fever, uterine complaints, blood diseases, skin diseases, tumour, anaemia, eye inflammation and diarrhoea.

Religious Importance:

Kadam features in Indian mythology and is mentioned in Bhagavata Purana. In North India, it is associated with Lord Krishna while in the South Goddess Parvathi. It is believed that Sri Krishna performed many of his divine acts (leelas) in Vrindavan under the canopy of Kadamba trees. He used to play with his friends around these trees in Vrindavan, holding the unique globular flowers of the tree. Hence the tree is also known as Haripriya, God’s favourite.