Boswellia Serrata
Family : Burseraceae
Common Name : Indian Olibanum, Indian frankincense
English Name : Indian Olibanum, Indian frankincense
Hindi Name : Shallaki, Kundur, Luban,Salai
Telugu Name : Anduga, Anduku
Bengali Name : Luban,Salai
Tree Characteristics :
Indian Olibanum is a deciduous tree endemic to India and has been recorded on dry hills and slopes, on gravelly soils between an altitude range of 275-900 m. It is a medium sized tree, 3-5 m tall, with ash coloured papery bark. Alternately arranged leaves are pinnate, crowded at the end of branches, 20-40 cm long. There are 8-15 pairs of leaflets, 3-6 cm long, with an odd one at the tip. Leaflets are ovate, with toothed margin. Flowers are tiny and creamy. Indian Olibanum tree, on injury, exudates an oleo-gum-resin known as Salai, Guggal or Indian Frankincense. Flowering: January.
Nursery Practice :
Polythene bags raised seedlings of 10 to 12 weeks are planted out in the field. It does not tolerate transplanting since the root system of this species is very delicate. It grows very good from large cuttings (70-80%) success. Dimension of the cutting is 7.5 to 10 cms India . and about 1.8 mt long. They are buried in the ground to a depth of 0.45 to 0.6 mt. The soil should be well pressed around the cutting. No.of seeds per kg is 13,400 to 14,800. Germination percentage is between 8 to 20 and the Period of germination 10 to 20 days. Pretreatment – Overnight treatment in mild hot water for 24 hours.
Economic Use:
The wood is of low quality, it is sometimes used for items such as cheap furniture, tea boxes, bowls, dishes etc, and as a source of pulp for paper production.
The plant has a long history of use in Ayurveda. It has been used in Indian Ayurvedic medicine for centuries to treat arthritis.
Modern research has shown the presence of a gum, resin and essential oil
An edible gum is obtained from the plant.
