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Healthful tree

This tree is sacred apart from making an excellent avenue tree

PHOTO: K. RAMESH BABU

Even neem flowers are good for health Photo:

Known as Neem in Hindi; Vepu in Tamil and Malayalam; Yappachettu in Telugu, this is one of the best-known and important trees in the country. In Persian Azad darakht means noble tree.

Though a native of Burma, Neem is one of the commonest shady tree here in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka in the country, and Myanmar and Sri Lanka. The tree is considered sacred and health giving because of its medicinal properties.

The tree also provides good shade and sitting under it and the breeze from it is considered good for health. The wood is used in carving and twinge as chew stick and toothbrush. The seeds yield Margosa oil that is used in soap manufacture and used as insecticide for plants.

Oil cake is used as manure. Bunches of leaves are tied in front of the house to indicate that small pox is prevalent. The leaves, barks and root have certain tonic properties and are used in Indian medicine. Leaves made into pulp paste are applied on boils, eczema, ulcers and all skin problems.

Neem makes an excellent avenue tree. Having one or two neem trees in the compound is supposed to be very good for health. The air gets purified and also acts as mosquito repellent.

Evergreen

The tree is large evergreen up to 15 metres in height with a spreading crown. Leaves are crowded at the end of the branch lets. Leaflets are borne opposite, short stalked, lance shaped and toothed with a terminal one. Flowers are borne on 10-20 cm long panicles.

Flowers are small 0.5 cm, fragrant and cream coloured.Fruit is 1-2 cm long egg shaped yellow when ripe with a hard stone enclosing 1-2 seeds, borne in auxiliary bunches with five sepals and five spoon shaped oblong fragrant petals and honeyed. Birds relish the fruits.

CHITRA RADHAKRISHNAN

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