Mallotus philippensis - Kamala tree

Mallotus philippensis

Mallotus philippensis or Kampillaka or Kumkumada mara is a tree that bears fruits which give out red coloured powder which is used as a dye. The dye is known for its anthelmintic properties.

Uses

Anthelmintic. As remedy for tape-worm, because of its laxative effect.

Parts Used

Fruits, stem, leaves, Root.

Chemical Composition

Rottlerin, mallotoxin

Common names

Language	Common name
Kannada
Hindi	Kamala
Malayalam
Tamil
Telugu
Marathi
Gujarathi
Punjabi
Kashmiri
Sanskrit
English	Kamala tree, Monkey Face Tree

Properties

Reference: Dravya - Substance, Rasa - Taste, Guna - Qualities, Veerya - Potency, Vipaka - Post-digesion effect, Karma - Pharmacological activity, Prabhava - Therepeutics.

Habit

Seeds, Cutting.

Identification

Leaf

Kind	Shape	Feature
Leaves are opposite on the stem	Ovate to oblong in shape. 4 to 12 cm long, 2 to 7 cm wide with a long pointed tip.	The upper surface is green without hairs, the underside pale grey in colour. With a magnifying glass, small red glands may be visible. Leaf stems 2 to 5 cm long, somewhat thickened at both ends. The first leaf vein on either side of the mid rib extends from the leaf base, to over half the length of the leaf. Veins raised and evident under the leaf.

Flower

Type	Size	Color and composition	Stamen	More information
Yellow-brown flowers form on racemes. Racemes up to 6 cm long.	Male and female flowers grow on separate trees.	New South Wales flowering period is from June to November. Flowering period in the Philippines is March to April		{{{5}}}

Fruit

Type	Size	Mass	Appearance	Seeds	More information
6 to 9 mm broad	covered in red powdery substance	seeds 2 to 3 mm in diameter	Fresh seed is advised for germination.		{{{6}}}

Mode of Propagation

Seeds

How to plant/cultivate

A plant of lower elevations in the tropics, where it can be found from sea level to 1,600 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 25 - 34°c, but can tolerate 7 - 45°c. When dormant, the plant can survive temperatures down to about -2°c, but young growth can be severely damaged at 0°c. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,000 - 2,500mm, but tolerates 600 - 5,000mm. Succeeds in full sun, but plants can also tolerate considerable shade. Prefers a pH in the range 5 - 6.7, tolerating 4.5 - 7.5. Established plants are drought tolerant. The growth is comparatively slow - mean annual girth increment being reported in India at 0.65 cm, with a mean girth after 16 years of less than 15cm.

Commonly seen growing in areas

South Asia, Southeast Asia, Afghanistan and Australia, Mount Keira, south of Sydney.

Photo Gallery

• 

  M. philipensis flowers

• 

  Red coloured fruit of the kamala, Nandi hills slopes, Bangalore, India

• 

  Red kamala at its most southerly point of natural distribution, Mount Keira, Illawarra, Australia

• 

  Black-crested bulbul feeding on the red kamala at Jayanti, India

External Links

• [ http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Mallotus+philippensis detailsherbs.in]
• Mallotus_philippensis.org