A large deciduous shrub or small tree. Leaves oblong, lanceolate or elliptic. Flowers fragrant, creamy-yellow to greenish, solitary or in groups of up to 4 in leaf opposed cymes. Fruit globose or ovoid, yellowish green when ripe, embossed with prominent scales. Seeds black.
Herb Effects
Anticancer (root and its bark, stem and leaf); antihypertensive and alleviates spasms (root); cardiotonic (leaf).
Head lice removal (seed); for cancerous tumors (bruised leaves and salt combination), administered in acute dysentery and as a snuff to overcome hysteria (bruised leaves). Leaves made into a paste without adding water are applied to unhealthy ulcers and wounds. The leaf decoction is also employed in baths to alleviate rheumatic pain.
Reference
Chandel et al., Biodiversity in Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in India.