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Red Physic Nut
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Red Physic Nut
ative Photo: Dinesh Valke
Common name: Red Physic Nut, wild castor, wild croton, wild sultan seed • Hindi: दन्ती danti • Marathi: दंती danti, कातरी katari • Tamil: பேயாமணக்கு pey-amanakku • Malayalam: ചെറിയദന്തി ceriyadanthi, നാഗദന്തി naagadanthi • Telugu: అడవి ఆముదము adavi amudamu, కొండ ఆముదము kond amudamu, నేల జీడి nela jidi, నేపాళము nepalamu • Kannada: ದಮ್ತಿ damti, ಕಾಡು ಹರಳು kaadu haralu, ನಾಗದಮ್ತಿ naagadamti • Bengali: দন্তী danti, দন্তিগাছ dantigaacha • Oriya: ଏକ ପ୍ରକାରର ଔଷଧ • Konkani: baktumbo • Sanskrit: दन्ती danti, दन्तिका dantika, दीर्घ dirgha, एरण्डपत्रिका erandhapatrika, एरण्डफला erandhaphala, मकूलकः makulakah, नागदन्ती nagadanti, नागविन्ना nagavinna, निकुम्भः nikumbha, प्रत्यक्श्रेणी pratyaksreni, रेचनी rechani, रूक्षा ruksha, शीघ्रा shigra, विशल्य vishalya, उडुम्बरपर्णी udumbaraparni • Nepali: अजय फल Ajaya Phal, दुधे झार Dudhe Jhaar
Botanical name: Baliospermum solanifolium    Family: Euphorbiaceae (Castor family)
Synonyms: Baliospermum axillare, Baliospermum montanum, Jatropha montana
Red Physic Nut is a stout undershrub, 10 cm to 8 m in height with herbaceous branches from the roots. Leaves are simple, toothed with undulations. Upper leaves are small, lower ones large, sometimes palmately 3-5 lobed, 3-30 cm long, 1.5-15 cm broad. Male and female flowers are separated, seen in the same flowering branch, minute, about 3 mm across, greenish yellow, arranged in axillary and terminal racemes, spikes or fascicles. Capsules are distinctly 3-lobed, obovoid, stony, 8-13 mm across, minutely densely pubescent. Seeds are egg-shaped. Red Physic Nut is found in India, China and SE Asia, including the Himalayas.
Medicinal uses: Roots, seeds, leaves and seed oil are used to treat jaundice, constipation, piles, anemia, conjuctivitis. The roots are purgative, anthelmintic, carminative, rubefacient and anodyne. Used in abdominal pain, constipation, calculus, general anasarca, piles, helminthic infestation, scabies and skin disorders. Root paste is applied to painful swellings and piles. The leaves relieve asthma and seeds are used to cure snakebites.
Identification credit: N.S. Dungriyal, Dinesh Valke Photographed in Maharashtra.
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