Ehretia acuminata R.Br.

Family: Boraginaceae

Synonym:Ehretia serrata Roxb. 

Bengali/Vernacular name: Punia, Punyam konda, Kalahuja, Kala-huja, Kaal-auja, Kat-goa.

English name: Heliotrope tree.

Description of the plant: A medium-sized, semi-evergreen to deciduous tree, up to 10 m tall. Leaves simple, alternate, 5-16 cm long, 3-7 cm wide, elliptic or elliptic-oblong, acuminate, cuneate at the base, margin sharply serrate, chartaceuous, glabrescent, shining above. Inflorescence 18 cm long, axillary or terminal panicles, dense, pyramidal.Flowers small, numerous, white, fragrant, sessile or nearly so. Fruit a drupe, very small, globose to ellipsoid, yellow to orange-red or nearly black when ripe.

Plant parts used: Leaf.

Herbal uses:Decoction prepared from the leaves of the plant is used to treat fever.

Paste prepared from the leaves of the plant is used for swollen joints, facial inflammation, and post-traumatic swellingstreatment.

Distribution: It occurs in the forests of Sylhet, Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Dhaka, Panchagarh, Kurigram, Gaibandha, Netrokona, and Mymensingh districts, and the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

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