Plant Name Grewia abutilifolia
Common name: Mallow-Leaved Crossberry
Marathi: kirmith , Dhaman
Hindi: Dhamin, Dhaaman
English: Mallow-Leaved Crossberry
Jawhar:
Identification guide
General
Grewia abutilifolia is a shrub or a tree growing from 1 - 5 metres tall.
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a source of fibre.
Leaves
Leaves alternate; petiole 1-2 cm long, stellate-pubescent; blade broadly ovate, 2.5-12 cm × 2-11 cm, 3-veined from the base, hairy on both sides, base cordate, margin serrate or doubly serrate, apex acute, obtuse or obtusely acuminate and often shallowly lobed.
Flowers
Inflorescence an axillary, erect cyme, 1-2 cm long, peduncle 1-5 mm long; flower buds ovoid to ellipsoid, 4-6 mm × 3 mm, sepals 5, oblong, petals 5, oblong, 2-3 mm × 1 mm, ciliate in lower half, stamens glabrous, ovary ovoid, c. 1.5 mm long, hairy.
Fruits
Fruit a globose, 2-4-lobed, glabrescent capsule.
Habit / Habitat
Large shrub
Scrub, slopes on grassland in China. Open, dry, mixed deciduous forest at elevations from 100 - 1,000 meters in Thailand.
Moist deciduous forests and forest plantations.
Occurrence
- Asia - China, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia.
Edible parts
Used by tribal community in Jawhar : Fruits, Bark and Roots
Method of consumption
Jawhar tribal: Direct consumption of fruits
Medicinal use
It is extensively cultivated for its sweet and sour acidic fruit, which are sold in the market during summer months under the name falsa. The sherbet or squash is prepared from the fruit pulp by mixing it with sugar and used as an astringent, stomachic and cooling agent.
The root is used by Santhal tribals for rheumatism. The stem bark is said to be used in refining sugar, for making ropes and its infusion is used as a demulcent. The leaves are used as an application to pustular eruptions. The buds are also prescribed by some physicians.
Other uses
A good fibre, used for making rope, is obtained from the bark
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Sermatophyta
Sub-division: Angiospermae
Class: Dioctyledonae
Sub-Class: Polypetalae
Series: Thalamiflorae
Order: Malvales
Family: Tiliaceae
Genus: Grewia
Species: abutilifolia
References
http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Grewia+abutilifolia
http://uses.plantnet-project.org/en/Grewia_abutilifolia_(PROSEA)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grewia_asiatica