Family: Araliaceae
Synonym: Gastonia palmata Roxb. ex Lindl.
Bengali/Vernacular name: Argoja, Vombal, Kawhtebel.
Tribal name: Jharobbo hogoeya (Chakma), Chekara (Khumi), To podda ga (Marma), Munia vanghem (Pangkhoa).
English name: Snowflake plant.
Description of the Plant: An unbranched small tree, 3-8 m tall, with short prickles on the stem. Leaves large, 30-60 cm across, deeply palmately divided or cut, lobes long pointed, toothed. Leaf stalks 60-80 cm long. Flowers small, yellowish in roundish umbels which are arranged in panicles at the ends of branches; look like snowflakes on the tree, inspiring its common name. Fruit 1.6 cm long, ovoid.
Plant parts Used: Leaf, fruit, root.
Traditional
Uses: A paste made with the leaves of the plant is applied to the
infected parts of the body three times a day for three days to treat bruise.
Pea-sized pills made from the leaves of the plant are used in cirrhosis
treatment.
An extract made with the leaves of the plant is taken twice a day (10 ml amount
each time) until the febrile convulsion is cured.
Paste prepared from roots and fruits of the plant are applied to snake-bites
treatment.
Massage is done with the leaf juice of the plant for the treatment of
rheumatism.
Root paste is applied to swollen and painful penis of children’s.
The plant is used to treat hydrocele, loose motion, and paralysis.
Distribution: It is found in Cox’s Bazar, Sylhet, Chittagong districts, and the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
Is this plant misidentified? If yes, please tell us….
