Careya arborea

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Ordo: Ericales

Familia: Lecythidaceae
Subfamilia: Barringtonioideae
Genus: Careya
Species: Careya arborea
Name

Careya arborea Roxb.
References

Plants of the Coast of Coromandel 3:14, t. 218. 1811 ("1819")
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Careya arborea in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 09-Oct-10.

Vernacular names
தமிழ்: கல் தேக்கு

Careya arborea is a species of tree in the Lecythidaceae family, native to the Indian subcontinent, Afghanistan, and Indochina.[3] Its common English names include wild guava, Ceylon oak, patana oak.[4] Careya arborea is a deciduous tree that grows up to 15 metres (49 ft) high. Its leaves turn red in the cold season. Flowers are yellow or white in colour that become large green berries. The tree grows throughout India in forests and grasslands.

Common names
Careya arborea

Assamese - Godhajam কুম Kum, kumari, কুম্ভী kumbhi[4]
Bengali - Vakamba, Kumhi, Kumbhi[4]
Burmese - ban bwe (ဘန့်ပွေး)[5]
Garo - Dimbil bol
Hindi - कुम्भी Kumbhi[4]
Kannada - alagavvele, daddal, Koulu mara[4]
Khasi - Ka Mahir, Soh Kundur[4]
Khmer - Kandaol (កណ្ដោល)
Malayalam - പേഴ് Peezh, Peelam, Pela, Paer, Alam[4]
Marathi - कुम्भा Kumbha[4]
Oriya - Kumbh[4]
Sanskrit - Bhadrendrani, गिरिकर्णिका Girikarnika, Kaidarya, कालिंदी Kalindi
Sinhala - Kahata
Tamil - பேழை Peezhai, Aima, Karekku, Puta-tanni-maram[4]
Telugu - araya, budatadadimma, budatanevadi, buddaburija[4]
Thai - kradone (กระโดน)
Vietnamese - Vừng (sometimes Vừng xoan)

Uses

In colonial times in India, the fibrous bark of this tree was found to be an ideal substitute for beech bark as matches for matchlocks.[6]

The Careya arborea leaves are traditionally used to roll cheroots in Myanmar (Burma).[5] The town of Pyay (formerly Prome) is known for a local delicacy known as taw laphet (တောလက်ဖက်; lit. 'rural laphet') or Nibbinda laphet (နိဗ္ဗိန္ဒလက်ဖက်) that is tightly packed in parcel-like Careya arborea leaves for fermentation and preservation purposes.[7]

Flowers and young leaves are eaten as salad greens in Thailand. Young fruit is reported to be edible, though seeds are slightly poisonous.[8]

See also

Pīlu

References

1819 illustration from Plants of the coast of Coromandel : selected from drawings and descriptions presented to the hon. court of directors of the East India Company Volume 3 of 3, by Roxburgh, William; Banks, Joseph, Sir; Mackenzie, D.; Nicol, George; Bulmer, W. Publisher: London : G. Nicol, bookseller, 1795-1819 (London : W. Bulmer).
"Careya arborea Roxb. — the Plant List".
Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
"Careya arborea - Wild Guava". Flowers of India. Archived from the original on 2008-06-04. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
Myanmar-English Dictionary. Myanmar Language Commission. 1993. ISBN 1-881265-47-1.
Cox, Arthur F., 1895. Madras District Manuals: North Arcot (North Arcot District Gazetteer). Madras: Government Press. p. 28. "It [Careya arborea] is useful for gun-stocks, &c.; its fibrous bark is used as matches for match-locks. The Ordnance Department, when searching for a wood suitable for fuses to be used instead of the English beech, were recommended to try this wood, and did so, pronouncing it in every way suitable for the purpose."
"ပြည်လက်ဆောင်". Ksetra Pyay (in Burmese). Archived from the original on 2021-01-13. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
"Teri WRC".