Digital Garden

Madhuca longifolia

Mahua tree, kalpavriksha, Butter tree

Scientific Name- Madhuca longifolia var. latifolia 

Common Name- Mahua tree, kalpavriksha, Butter tree 

Family- Sapotaceae 

Habit type- Tree 

Habitat- The plant is found growing widely under dry tropical and subtropical climatic conditions. The plant thrives well on rocky, gravely, saline and sodic soils. 

Leaves- Leaves are thick, leathery, 10-30 cm long, lanceolate, narrowed at both ends, glabrous distinctly nerved and clustered at the end of the branches. It excludes a milky sap when broken. Young leaves are pinkish and wooly underneath. 

Bark 

bark is yellowish grey to dark brown, vertically cracked and wrinkled; exfoliating in thin scales and has milky substance inside. 

Flower 

Small and fleshy, dull or pale white in color and in defined fascicles near the end of branches. Corolla- Tubular, freshly, pale yellow aromatic and caduceus. 

Fruits 

Fleshy berries that are 2-6 cm long, ovoid having 1-4 seeds that are brown to black colored. They are greenish when young turning to pinkish yellow when ripe. 

Flowering and fruiting time- Flowering normally occurs from March- April. 

FACTS & MEDICINAL USES 

They are part of one of the oldest landforms of India, the ‘Gondwana’. The tribe is known to have retained their culture since centuries. 

One such of their century-old tradition is their love for Mahua trees. For Gonds, the Mahua tree is very sacred. It is known to be a “Kalpavriksha”, a wish-fulfilling divine tree in Hindu mythology. In fact, the Gond people, from around the Central Indian plateau of Chota Nagpur, have revered the Mahua tree as ‘Tree of life’. According to them, a little water is said to bring the dried up tree back to life. 

A “Mahua Tyohar” is celebrated every year before rains, in honor of their beloved tree. 

Mahua flowers find its major use in preparation of alcohol. The process involves a simple distillation process. 

Mahua tree finds its mention in the Charaka’s medicinal book “Charaka Samhita”. Here he says that the regulated amount of Mahua, mixed in proper proportions could balance the ‘doshas’ of an individual. 

The flowers are cooling in nature and used for treating cold, cough, bronchitis and other respiratory disorders. 

Seed oil is galactogenic (stimulating breast milk), pain-relieving and vomiting inducing in action. These are used in pneumonia, skin diseases, and piles. 

The tree bark is astringent and emollient (skin softening). The bark is used for tonsillitis, gum troubles, diabetes and ulcers.