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Terminalia arjuna is a large sized deciduous tree. Height of this plant is around 60-80ft with spreading branches. Bark smooth and flower is sessile type. it grows all over India,Burma,Bangladesh and Srilanka.

ARJUN bark (Terminalia arjuna)

Plant Identification and Habitat: Terminalia Arjuna a large tree, 20-25m in height, with often buttressed trunk, smooth grey bark, and drooping branchlets. Leaves; sub opposite, hard, oblong or elliptic, 10-20 cm long. Terminalia Arjuna Flowers; yellowish white. Fruits; 2.5-5 cm long, obvoid-oblong, with 5-7 equal, hard, leathery appearance, thick narrow wings, their striations curving upwards. Terminalia Arjuna Flowers in March to June and fruits in September to November.

It grows in most parts of India and is also planted in many parts for shade and ornament. Morphology Description (Habit) T.arjuna is a large, evergreen tree, with a spreading crown and drooping branches. The stems are buttressed and often fluted; the bark is very thick, grey or pinkish green, smooth, exfoliating in large, thin, irregular sheets; the leaves are sub-opposite, oblong or elliptic, coriaceous, cordate; the flowers, in panicled spikes; the fruits are nearly glabrous, ovoid or ovoid-oblong, with 5-7 hard, winged angles.
Common on banks of rivers, streams and dry water courses in sub-Himalayan tract, Central and South India and West Bengal; also planted for shade or ornament in avenues and parks. Sacred Value; according to a folk tale, this tree is said to have been born of the two sons of Kubair after saint Narada cursed them. The leaves or flowers are offered to Lord Ganapati on Siddhi Vinayaka Vrata, Sankastha Chaturthi Vrata and Vishnu on Shree Anantapadmanabha Vrata. According to astrologers, the plant is associated with constellation Swati whose presiding deity is Vayu.

Botany: Tree up to 25 meter hight; bark grey, smooth; leaves sub-opposite, 5–14 × 2–4.5 cm., oblong or elliptic oblong, glabrous, often inequilateral, margin often crenulate, apex obtuse or sub-acute, base rounded or sometimes cordate; petioles 0.5–1.2cm; glands usually two. Flowers small, white. Fruit 2.3–3.5 cm long, fibrous woody, glabrous with 5 hard wings, striated with numerous curved veins. Flowering time April–July in Indian conditions. Seeds hard germination 50–76 days (50–60%).
Useful Parts: Every parts useful medicinal properties Arjun holds a reputed position in both Ayurvedic and Yunani Systems of medicine. According to Ayurveda it is alexiteric, styptic, tonic, anthelmintic, and useful in fractures, uclers, heart diseases, biliousness, urinary discharges, asthma, tumours, leucoderma, anaemia, excessive prespiration etc. According to Yunani system of medicine, it is used both externally and internally in gleet and urinary discharges. It is used as expectorant, aphrodisiac, tonic and diuretic.
Chemical Constituents: A glucoside - arjunetin - has been isolated from bark. Recently new flavance - arjunone has been isolated from fruits alongs with cerasidin, ?-sitosterol, friedlin, methyl oleanolate, gallic, ellagic and arjunic acids.
Principal Constituents ß-sitosterol, ellagic acid, and arjunic acid.

Ayurvedic Formulations: Arujanarishta, Arjunghrita, Arjunakhsirpak, Arvindasava, Devadarvy - arishta etc.
Medicinal uses: Arjuna (Kakubhah) is cooling and checks heart diseases, Haemorrhagic consumption and poisons (Toxaemia). It is useful in obesity (Medas) and in Diabetic wounds. It is astringent and checks Kapha and Pitta. As an astringent, it is used in tooth powders. Action:- Cardiac tonic. Uses:- It is a reputed heart tonic of the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia. It is observed large doses to depress the heart. Small doses taken over a long period with sugar and ghee steadily improves the condition of the heart giving it strength. It is used as a powder either alone or in combination with other herbs. This pure dried Arjun bark can be made into a tea by steeping for 10 minutes in hot water. The bark can be re used 3 times if carefully dried between use.Powdered from bark is used as astringent, cardiac tonic & asthma. Leaf juice is used to cure blood dysentery.
The bark of tree is a cardiac stimulant and has a cooling and tonic effect. It is useful in arresting secretion or bleeding. It helps to relieve fever. It is also useful in removing calculi or stones formed in the urinary system, in promoting flow of bile and in the healing of wounds. Asthma, acne, diarrhea or dysentery, earache.

The bark is useful as an anti-ischemic and cardioprotective agent in hypertension and ischemic heart diseases, especially in disturbed cardiac rhythm, angina or myocardial infarction. The bark powder possesses diuretic, prostaglandin enhancing and coronary risk factor modulating properties. It apparently has a diuretic and a general tonic effect in cases of cirrhosis of the liver.

Cultivation Method: after collection of nature fruits dried into sunlight & then stored up to 6-12 months. Seeds are pretreated by soaking in water for 48 hrs before sowing in beds. 8-9 months old seedlings are better to transplant in the field.
Other Uses: Recommended for reclamation of saline, alkaline soils and deep ravines. Used for agro and social forestry. Timber is locally used for carts, agricultural implements, water troughs, traps, boat building, house building, electric poles, tool-handles, jetty-piles and plywood. Fodder is useful for tassar silkworm. It is one of the major tannin yielding trees. Bark (22–24%), leaf (10–11%) and fruit (7–20%) contains tannins.
Resources:

www.mapbd.com and amazon.com,
http://www.bicco.com/herb_photo.html
http://www.bssmworld.com/herbal_health/terminalia_arjuna.htm

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