''Salvadora oleoides'' is a small bushy evergreen tree found in
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 ...
and
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
and southern
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
.
The root and stem possess various antimicrobial agents and is traditionally used as toothbrush in Pakistan and India
Habitat
The vann is commonly found in and around
Sandal Bar
The Sandal Bar ( pa, ) is a region between the rivers Chenab and Ravi in Punjab, Pakistan. It is located in the southern part of Rechna Doab. It spreads over almost in width (west to east) and in length (north to south). "Bar", in the local ...
, and is reserved for use as grazing sources for local peasant villages. In addition, a number of trees have been preserved to provide shade for cattle.
Wood
The vann is mostly non-woody and the small amount of wood that it has is soft, light, and not particularly useful for any of
wood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...
's normal uses, notably building and heat. When burnt, it leaves a large quantity of ash, which can then be boiled down into a substance for treating
mange
Mange is a type of skin disease caused by parasitic mites. Because various species of mites also infect plants, birds and reptiles, the term "mange", or colloquially "the mange", suggesting poor condition of the skin and fur due to the infectio ...
in
camels.
In literature
Jal-tree
In the ''
janamsakhis
The Janamsakhis ( pa, ਜਨਮਸਾਖੀ, IAST: ''Janam-sākhī'', ''lit.'' ''birth stories''), are legendary biographies of Guru Nanak – the founder of Sikhism. Popular in the Sikh history, these texts are considered by scholars as imaginar ...
'' of
Guru Nanak
Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also referred to as ('father Nānak'), was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated w ...
, he was found laying under a jal-tree whose shadow remained stationary to protect him from the sun. Macauliffe identifies this tree as ''Salvadora oleoides''.
See also
* "Pil
is a Proto Dravidian word named after tooth word "Pal" for indicating tooth word
Pīlu- Mentioned in
Mahābhārata.
*
Salvadora persica
''Salvadora persica'' or the toothbrush tree is a small evergreen tree native to India, the Middle East and Africa. Its sticks are traditionally used as a natural toothbrush called ''miswak'' and are mentioned by the World Health Organization f ...
—Toothbrush tree,
peelu, or
siwak
The miswak (''miswaak'', ''siwak'', ''sewak'', ar, سواك or ) is a teeth-cleaning twig made from the ''Salvadora persica'' tree (known as ''arāk'', أراك, in Arabic). It is reputed to have been used over 7,000 years ago. The miswak's pr ...
References
* RN Kaul (1963): Need for afforestation in the arid zones of India, LA-YAARAN, Vol 13
* RC Ghosh (1977): Hand book on afforestation techniques, Dehradun.
* RK Gupta & Ishwar Prakasah (1975): Environmental analysis of the Thar Desert, Dehradun.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3765299
Salvadoraceae
Flora of India (region)
Flora of Pakistan
Flora of Iran