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Hiri mara |
| Vernacular Name: Sinhala: Hiri mara; Eng: Black sins. | |
| Description: A medium sized unarmed tree about 20 m in height with dark coloured young shoots and grey, rough, irregularly cracked bark with dark patches; leaved abruptly pinnate, alternate, main rachis with a gland on the upper side near its basal part and often with similar glands at the bases of the first two pairs of pinnae, leaflets unequal sided, rounded, or semicordate at base, obtuse or rounded at the apex, dark green, slightly pubescent above; flowers white, fragrant, sessile, numerous, in small globose 5-10 or more flowered heads, in corymbiform spreading panicles; fruits shortly stalked pods, brown, slightly reticulately veined; seeds fiat yellow. | |
| Propagation: By seeds. | |
| Part Used: Bark | |
| Chemical Constituents: The bark yields tannins of condensed type, viz. D-catechin, isomers of leucocyanidin and melacacidin and a new leucoantho-cyanidin, lebbecacidin. It also gives fniedelin and 3-sitosterol. Seeds gave crude protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, niacin, and ascorbic acid, amino acid composition of the protein is: arginine, histidine, leucine & isoleucine lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tyrosine, and valine. The flowers contain lupeol, a-and 3-amyrin and a pigment similar to crocetin. | |
| Uses: The bark is astringent, acrid, cooling, depurative and expectorant, and is useful in ulcers, leprosy, skin diseases, erysipelas, cough, bronchitis, diabetes and burning sensation. | |
