''Careya arborea'' is a species of tree in the

Lecythidaceae The Lecythidaceae comprise a family of about 20 genera and 250–300 species of woody plants native to tropical South America, Africa (including Madagascar), Asia and Australia. The most important member of the family in world trade is the B ...

family, native to the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, and

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

. Its common English names include wild guava, Ceylon oak, patana oak. ''Careya arborea'' is a

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

tree that grows up to high. Its leaves turn red in the cold season. Flowers are yellow or white in colour that become large green berries. The tree grows throughout India in forests and grasslands.

Common names

*Assamese - Godhajam কুম Kum, kumari, কুম্ভী kumbhi * Bengali - Vakamba, Kumhi, Kumbhi * Burmese - ''ban bwe'' (ဘန့်ပွေး) * Garo - Dimbil bol * Hindi - कुम्भी Kumbhi * Kannada - alagavvele, daddal, Koulu mara * Khasi - Ka Mahir, Soh Kundur * Khmer - Kandaol (កណ្ដោល) * Malayalam - പേഴ് Peezh, Peelam, Pela, Paer, Alam * Marathi - कुम्भा Kumbha * Oriya - Kumbh * Sanskrit - Bhadrendrani, गिरिकर्णिका Girikarnika, Kaidarya, कालिंदी Kalindi * Sinhala - Kahata * Tamil - பேழை Peezhai, Aima, Karekku, Puta-tanni-maram * Telugu - araya, budatadadimma, budatanevadi, buddaburija * Thai - kradone (กระโดน) * Vietnamese - Vừng (sometimes Vừng xoan)

Uses

In colonial times in India, the fibrous bark of this tree was found to be an ideal substitute for beech bark as matches for

matchlocks A matchlock or firelock is a historical type of firearm wherein the gunpowder is ignited by a burning piece of rope that is touched to the gunpowder by a mechanism that the musketeer activates by pulling a lever or trigger with his finger. Befo ...

. The ''Careya arborea'' leaves are traditionally used to roll cheroots in Myanmar (Burma). The town of Pyay (formerly Prome) is known for a local delicacy known as '' taw laphet'' (; ) or '' laphet'' () that is tightly packed in parcel-like ''Careya arborea'' leaves for fermentation and preservation purposes. Flowers and young leaves are eaten as salad greens in Thailand. Young fruit is reported to be edible, though seeds are slightly poisonous.

Gallery

File:Careya arborea (Wild guava)fruit in Narsapur forest, AP W IMG 0148.jpg, Fruit in

Narsapur, Medak district Narsapur is a census town in Medak district of the Indian state of Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest sta ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. File:Careya arborea (Wild guava) leaves in Narsapur forest, AP W IMG 0153.jpg, Fruit with leaves in

. File:Careya arborea (Wild guava) leaves in Narsapur forest, AP W IMG 0150.jpg, Leaves in

. File:Careya arborea (Wild guava) in Narsapur forest, AP W IMG 0152.jpg, Trunk in

. File:Grey Count (Tanaecia lepidea) caterpillar on Careya arborea W IMG_2390.jpg, Grey Count ''

Tanaecia lepidea ''Tanaecia lepidea'', the grey count, is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in South and Southeast Asia. Description Upperside dark brown, paler in the female, with very obscure black markings of transverse lines across the cells of both ...

'' caterpillar on ''Careya arborea'' sapling in

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

References

Lecythidaceae Flora of Asia Trees of Nepal Inflorescence vegetables {{Lecythidaceae-stub

Common names

Uses

Gallery

See also

References