Mappia Goetida
Family : Icacinaceae
Common Name : Ghanera
Hindi Name : Khok, Kalla Siras
Tamil Name : Arali, Perum pulagi
Synonyms : Nothapodytes nimmoniana
Tree Characteristics :
Ghanera is a small tree, 3-8 m tall, with smooth, grey, wrinkled bark, about 5 mm thick. Branchlets are slightly angled, corky, with prominent leaf scars. Alternately arranged leaves are slightly leathery, broadly egg-shaped to elliptic-oblong, 1-25 cm long, 4-12 cm wide. Leaf base is often unequal, tip is pointed to long-pointed. Leaves are crowded at the ends of branchlets. Leaf stalks are 3-6 cm long. Flowers are bisexual, creamy yellow, foul smelling, about 5 mm across, in flat-topped clusters at the end of branches. Petals are hairy inside. Fruits are oblong to ellipsoid, about 2 x 1 cm, smooth, purplish black when ripe, with a single seeds. Ghanera is usually found in peninsular India. Flowering: August.
Nursery Practice :
Seed Collection: Fruits (drupes) obliquely ovoid more than 1 cm in girth and 1.5- 2.5 cm length with attached nut/ seed. Fruits and seeds are collected between December and January. Seeds 460-880 / kg. Orange coloured receptacle of seeds turns black after drying. Nuts treated with conc. sulphuric acid for 15 minutes. Viability remains 6-9 months however seeds can be sown immediately after collection. Before sowing seed bed its drenched with 0.1 % bavistin to impart protection from fungal attack.
The seeds are collected during October-November and are shade dried for about a week and later soaked in cow dung slurry for 24 hours. These treated seeds are sown in well prepared mother beds. Germination duration is 30 days in case of treated seeds and the control seeds take up to 60 days to germinate. The germination is 50 percent for treated seeds and 30 for untreated seeds. Before sowing seeds are drenched with 0.1 % bavistin. Vegetative Propagation: The hard wood, semi hard and soft wood cuttings show 20, 40 and 60 percent sprouting respectively in 20 days. Air layering can also be done. The stem cuttings shall be prepared at the time of leaf sprouting during feb- march. Growth hormone 200 ppm IBA also improves root germination. Green house: Cuttings kept in hot humid poly chamber with temp range 28 -33 °c and 95 % RH. Sand of coir pith used 1:1 as rooting media with 2000 pm IBA application.
Economic Use:
Seeds & Barks: Active anti-cancer ingredients ‘Camptothecin’ 9-hydroxy Camptothecin and Mappicin have been extracted from the seeds and bark. This species has gained a considerable importance in recent times, for its alkaloid camptothecin, 9-hydroxy Camptothecin and Mappicin which are quite effective against a variety of cancers. Derived from tender stem bark powder. Camptothecin, approved as an effective drug. The mode of action of camptothecin is not well understood. An interesting issue is that camptothecin was originally known from the Chinese species Camptotheca acuminate, belonging to the family Nyssaceae. Also its potential use against falciparum malaria ,trypanosomes gained immense importance in pharmaceutical industry.
Other uses: Seeds yield fatty oil.
