Botanical Name –Mimusops elengi Linn.
Family – Sapotaceae
Mimusops elengi is a medium-sized evergreen tree found in tropical forests in South Asia, Southeast Asia and northern Australia. English common names include Spanish cherry, medlar, and bullet wood. Its timber is valuable, the fruit is edible, and it is used in traditional medicine. As the trees give thick shade and flowers emit fragrance, it is a prized collection of gardens.
Its flower is the provincial flower of Yala Province, Thailand, as well as the city flower of Ampang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
Bullet wood is an evergreen tree reaching a height of about 16 m (52 ft). It flowers in April, and fruiting occurs between June and October. The leaves are glossy, dark green, oval-shaped, 5–14 cm (2.0–5.5 in) long, and 2.5–6 cm (0.98–2.36 in) wide. The flowers are cream, hairy, and scented. The fruits are fleshy, range in color between yellow and brown, and contain a large brown seed. The pulp has a yellow color and it is edible. The bark of the tree is thick and appears dark brownish black or grayish black in colour, with striations and a few cracks on the surface. The tree may reach up to a height of 9–18 m (30–59 ft) with about 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in circumference.
Guna: guru
Rasa: katu, kashaya
Virya: anushna
Vipaka: katu
Karma : Danta sula haram, balyam, hridyam, vishaghnam, brimhanam, samgrahi, carminative, digestive, astingent,cooling, diuretic, antimicrobial, antifungal, anthelmintic, antiviral, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory
Tannin, spinasterol, taraxerol, D-mannitol, beta-sitosterol, beta-sitosterol- D-glycoside , pentacyclic triterpene acids, mimusopic, mimusopsic acids
flowers acts as nervine tonic and generate freshness of mind. Powder of the flowers is used for nasal administration in headache. Bark powder is used for strengthening gums and teeth and in pyorrhoea.
Decoction of the bark is astringent and is therefore used in diarrhoea, dysentery and intestinal worms. Alcoholic extract of flowers is useful in heart diseases as it acts specifically on the heart and blood. Flowers and bark have good hemostatic activity and are therefore used in menorrhagia, leucorthoea, spermatorrhoea, cystitis, gonorrhoea etc. Ripe fruits are used as general tonic.