Bridelia Retusa
Family : Euphorbiaceae
Common Name : Spinous kino tree
English Name : Spinous kino tree
Hindi Name : Kasai
Telugu Name : Korra Maddi
Bengali Name : Geio
Tree Characteristics :
Bridelia retusa is a deciduous, large shrub or tree, usually growing up to 10 metres tall but occasionally to 20 metres. The bole is up to 30cm in diameter, armed with scattered, pointed thorns up to 4cm long. The tree is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine, food and source of a good quality wood. A fairly fast-growing tree. The plant is reported to be resistant to fire in regularly burnt grassy savannahs.
Nursery Practice :
Fruits are plucked from the tree in December and heaped to rot for 2 to 3 days and then washed to remove the pulp. Then the pyrene (seed) is dried. Seeds do not store well. Soaking the seeds in cold water for 24 hours. Seeds can be sown in bigger polybags (because ofthe fast growth of the tap root) in January and watered regularly. Shade is necessary. Germination commences after 10 to 12 days. The growth of the seedlings is somewhat slow (5 to 8 cm in the first season). No. of seeds per Kg 16,000 to 17,000 and the Germination percentage is 75.
Economic Uses :
The bark is used for tannin (Troup, 1921). The wood is of good quality and colour and it is used for rafters, posts, floor boards, cart-shafts, wheels and agricultural implements (Bose et al., 1998). Fruits are edible and leaves are used as fodder. Cyanogenic glycosides occur in the young leaves of Bridelia retusa
Medicine : The roots are crushed and used for treating stomach aches, tapeworms, diarrhoea, headaches, and sore joints. The leaf sap is used for sore eyes.
