Schima wallichii Choisy

Family: Theaceae

Bengali/Vernacular name: Bonak, Makrishal, Chila uni (Bengali); Kanak (Chittagong).

Tribal name: Sreng-gun (Khasia).

English name: Needle wood tree, Schima.

Description of the plant: An evergreen tree, up to 30 m tall. Leaves alternate, eilliptic-lanceolate, usually entire, coriaceous, apex acute or acuminate, base attenuate, cuneate or rounded, glabrous and shiny above, pubescent beneath. Flowers white, fragrant, solitary, axillary. Fruit a capsule, subglobose, silky when young, glabrous when old.

Plant parts used: Leaf,bark, flower.

Herbal uses: Paste prepared from the leaves of the plant is applied to healing wound.

The sap from the stem is used in the treatment of ear infections.

Ointment prepared from the flowers of the plant is used to treat small pox.

The bark of the plant is used to treat fever.

The flowers of the plant are used as remedy for uterine disorders and hysteria.

Distribution: It is found in the hill forests of Chittagong, Sylhet, and Mymensingh districts and the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

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