Evergreen tree which can reach a height of 80 feet and 2.4 m in girth. Bark is rough, grey-white, yellowish inside.The leaves are petioled, oblong, 15cm long, glossy, dark green on the upper surface, with a whitish undersurface, occurring in whorls of 4 or 6. The flowers are greenish white, tubular and sessile, occurring in dense terminal clusters and appearing in spring. The fruits are long cylindrical follicles.

Laxative (bark decoction); anticancer and hypotensive (stem bark); anthelmintic (bark); hypothermic and aphrodisiac (prolongs erection in males); astringent and galactogogue, antibacterial activity (Khan et al., 2003).

Dave's Garden
Dita
Homeopathic Materia Medica
UNEP-WCMC Species Database
Natural Assets Database

Lupeol, amyrin acetates and numerous alkaloids (including ditamine and ditain) (bark); indole alkaloids (plant); betulin, ursolic acid and beta-sitosterol (leaf); betulinic acid (stem bark).

In tuberculosis and as a tonic and laxative (bark decoction); in skin disorders, in dysentery, chronic diarrhea and fever, in heart diseases, asthma and to stop bleeding of wounds; for deafness (bark); in leprosy and dyspepsia (fresh bark juice); for beri-beri and liver congestion (decoction of young leaf); to ulcers, sores, tumours and in rheumatic pain, and is used for curing toothache, an antidote for Antiaris- poisoning (the milky juice or latex).

Chandel et al., Biodiversity in Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in India.