Semecarpus anacardium - Agnimukh, Marking nut

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Agnimukh, Guḍḍe geru bija

Semecarpus anacardium is a native of India, found in the outer Himalayas to Coromandel Coast. It is closely related to the cashew.

Uses

dyspepsia, Strengthen the lungs, arthritis, aphrodisiac, piles, sexual health, skin disease, kapha, Destroys worms, wounds, Reduce urine flow.

Parts Used

Fruits, Leaves, Pericarp.

Chemical Composition

Anacardic acid, cardol, catechol, anacardol and fixed oit, sernicarpoi, bhilawanol.

Common names

Language	Common name
Kannada	Greu, Geru-kayi
Hindi	Bealata, bela, bhilava
Malayalam	Thennukota, Alakcueer
Tamil	Kalakam, Kavaka
Telugu	Ballatamu
Marathi	NA
Gujarathi	NA
Punjabi	NA
Kashmiri	NA
Sanskrit	Angika, Agnimukh
English	Marking nut

Habit

A small erect shrub

Identification

Leaf

Kind	Shape	Feature
Simple	tri-foliolate,lanceolate	Leafs are 2.5-13.5 cm long to 1-5.5 cm wide. The leaflets are green above and a silvery grey-green beneath and are covered on their lower surfaces in small yellow glands

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Flower

Type	Size	Color and composition	Stamen	More information
Unisexual	14cm long	yellow, papilionaceous	Typical of species belonging to the Leguminosae subfamily Papilionoideae, and resemble, for example, the pea ( Pisum sativum ) flower. Each flower has 10 stamens, 9 of which are fused into a partial tube, with the tenth stamen free. The ovary is positioned above the sepals, petals and stamens. The style is curved	{{{5}}}

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Fruit

Type	Size	Mass	Appearance	Seeds	More information
straight or sickle	2-13 cm long x 0.5-1.5 cm	The seeds are 4-9 mm x 3-8 mm and can be white, brown, purplish, black or mottled.	many seeds	{{{5}}}	{{{6}}}

List of Ayurvedic medicine in which the herb is used

• Vishatinduka Taila as root juice extract

Mode of Propagation

Seeds, Cuttung.

How to plant/cultivate

Seed germinate in about 2 weeks. Quite frequently (in India) pigeon pea is grown mixed with other crops or grown in alternate rows with rows of sorghum, groundnuts, sesame, cotton, pineapples, millets or maize.For pure crops pigeon pea should be sown 2.5–5 cm deep in rows 40–120 cm by 30–60 cm.About 3–4 seeds may be planted in each hill, and later thinned to 2 plants per hill. About 3–4 seeds may be planted in each hill, and later thinned to 2 plants per hill. Plants show little response to fertilizers.

Commonly seen growing in areas

Semi-arid tropics, Humid areas, cold-free zones.

Photo Gallery

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External Links

• Pigeon pea on Agropedia
• Pigeon pea on PlantVillage
• Cajanus cajun - purdue.edu
• Cajanus cajun on Feedipedia