''Cordia myxa'', the Assyrian plum, is a mid-sized, deciduous tree in the
borage
Borage ( or ; ''Borago officinalis''), also known as starflower, is an annual herb in the flowering plant family Boraginaceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region, and has naturalized in many other locales.
It grows satisfactorily in gard ...
family (
Boraginaceae
Boraginaceae, the borage or forget-me-not family, includes about 2,000 species of shrubs, trees and herbs in 146, to 156 genera with a worldwide distribution.
The APG IV system from 2016 classifies the Boraginaceae as single family of the order ...
), native to Asia. It produces small, edible fruit and is found in warmer areas across Africa and Asia. Other common names include lasura, laveda, pidar, panugeri, naruvilli, geduri, spistan, burgund dulu wanan and .
It is found growing primarily in Asia, as well as, across the globe especially in tropical regions having the right type of geophysical environment. It is seen coming up naturally and growing abundantly from
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
in the east to
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
and
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
in the west. Its habitat starts at about 200 m above mean sea level in the plains and ascends to an altitude around 1,500 m in the hills.
Habit
Lasura matures in about 50 to 60 years by when its girth at the breast height is about 1 to 1.5 m. Its bole (main trunk) is generally straight and cylindrical, attaining a height of nearly 3 to 4 m. The branches spread in all directions by virtue of which its crown can be trained into a beautiful inverted dome like an umbrella. When fully grown up, the total height of the tree comes to nearly 10 to 15 m. In less favorable climates and/or unfavorable environments, however, it has a lesser growth and may attain a somewhat crooked form. In still worse environments it can even remain a stunted shrub.
Bark
The bark of lasura is grayish brown in color with longitudinal and vertical fissures. The tree can be easily identified from a distance by observing the fissures which are so prominent in the bark of the main bole of a tree approaching maturity.
Leaves
The leaves of lasura are broad, ovate, alternate and stalked with the spread being 7 to 15 cm x 5 to 10 cm. In matter of external appearance these are glabrous above and pubescent below. The young leaves tend to be hairy. The fresh foliage is quite useful as fodder for cattle — more so during grass famines. These are also used for wrapping biddies and cheroots.
Flowers
Lasura tree flowers during March–April. The inflorescence, mostly terminal, is, white in color. Individual florets are nearly 5 mm in diameter. At places these are somewhat hairy and white. Being a deciduous plant, the species bears male and female flowers on the same tree. The calyx part of an independent flower is about 8 mm long and glabrous, but not pubescent. It splits irregularly at the opening of its bud into flower. The filaments are hairy.
Fruit
The fruit of lasura start appearing during July–August. It is a kind of a
drupe
In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or '' pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel'') ...
(stone fruit), light pale to brown or even pink in color. The appearance tends to darken when ripening sets in. Being full of viscid glue like mucilage, the pulp is somewhat translucent. When fully ripe the pulp becomes quite sweet in taste and is fully enjoyed by children. The pulp in a half ripe fruit can even be used as an alternative to paper glue in office work.
Cultivation
Keeping in view the numerous utilities of the plant it is widely cultivated in the arid zone too. The species is indigenous to China and is widely cultivated in lower plains and tropical regions. Though this plant flourishes well in deep clayey loam and sandy soils, it does still better in areas experiencing nearly 100 to 150 cm of annual rainfall.
[Oudhia, P., 2007. Cordia myxa L. nternetRecord from PROTA4U. Schmelzer, G.H. & Gurib-Fakim, A. (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa / Ressources végétales de l’Afrique tropicale), Wageningen, Netherlands.]
Toxicity
''Cordia myxa''may contain
tumorigenic
Carcinogenesis, also called oncogenesis or tumorigenesis, is the formation of a cancer, whereby normal cells are transformed into cancer cells. The process is characterized by changes at the cellular, genetic, and epigenetic levels and abnorm ...
pyrrolizidine alkaloids
Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), sometimes referred to as necine bases, are a group of naturally occurring alkaloids based on the structure of pyrrolizidine. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are produced by plants as a defense mechanism against insect he ...
.
[Fu, P.P., Yang, Y.C., Xia, Q., Chou, M.C., Cui, Y.Y., Lin G., "Pyrrolizidine alkaloids-tumorigenic components in Chinese herbal medicines and dietary supplements", ''Journal of Food and Drug Analysis'', Vol. 10, No. 4, 2002, pp. 198-21]
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References
External links
*
USDA Plants Profile
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2724424
Cordia, myxa
Trees of Western Asia
Flora of the Indian subcontinent
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus