Botanical Name: Flacourtia rukam
Family: Salicaceae
Kingdom:Plantae
Order: Malpighiales
Genus: Flacourtia
Species:F. rukam
Common Names: Rukam, Governor’s plum, Indian plum, and Indian prune.
Habitat: Indian Prune is native to China, India, and much of Southeast Asia, where it grows in forests.
Description:
Indian Prune is a large shrub or small tree, 8-10 m tall, dioecious, with light brown smoothish bark, twigs sometimes have spines at leaf bases.Leaves alternate, with petioles 6 – 9 mm long; blades are 5-20 cm long and 2.5-8 cm wide, long-pointed at apex and short-pointed at base, thin or slightly thickened, becoming hairless or nearly so, the long curved side veins slightly sunken.
The trunk is lined with thorns up to 10 centimeters long; some cultivated varieties lack thorns. New leaves are red to brown in color. Mature leaves are somewhat oval in shape with toothed edges and up to 16 centimeters long by 7 wide. Racemes of yellow-green male and female flowers occur in the leaf axils. The rounded fruit is about 2 centimeters long and is green, red, or purple in color.
Edible Uses:…...CLICK & SEE
Indian prunes are a fruit that is really popular, they are eaten raw or in dried condition. Sometimes made into Jam or other type of preparations.
Health Benefits:
Adding Indian prunes to one’s diet could be a wise decision as fiber that is found in abundance in prunes helps in lowering cholesterol keeping heart diseases at bay. It also helps in satiating hunger and making one feel full thus keeping digestive tract running smoothly by avoiding constipation and digestive issues. A vital vitamin known as the vitamin K is also found in this fruit and it helps largely in building strong bones and also in clotting blood in the body. Apart from vitamin K, this fruit is rich in potassium that enables proper functioning of the bones and also keeps the blood pressure in check in case of over consumption of sodium.
This fruit like all other dried fruit is undoubtedly high on sugar content and ranks high on calorific value, it is still enjoyed in moderation by people even who are dieting and also diabetic patients all due to its unique benefits it has to offer.
Everything eaten in proportion is always beneficial to the body.
Other Uses: Starting with the most basic need a human, the wood from the tree is extremely strong that comes with a fine grained structure. The stem of the tree is very short mostly growing up to the size of 5cms, this may hinder the size of the product made using the same. This way all products made out of the stem of this tree are usually small in size. A numerous products such as self-bow, spoons, combs, knitting needles etc are made out of the stem of this tree. The wood also makes a well suited base for detail carvings given it has a fine grain structure.
Disclaimer : The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplement, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.
Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flacourtia_rukam
https://www.fruitsinfo.com/indian-prune-tropical-fruit.php
