Carissa congesta – Plant

• Botanical Name : Carissa congesta Wight
• Synonyms : Carissa carandas L.
• Common Name : Karamda, Karanda
• Plant Family : Apocynaceae
• Plant Form : Shrub
• Occurrence (Sectors) : 15, 22, 30
• Occurrence (Special Areas) : Gujarat Forestry Research Foundation, Indroda Park, Ayurvedic Udyan, Punit Van, Van Chetana Kendra, Aranya Van

About Carissa congesta Plant :

• Habit : A large erect or subscandent shrub armed with stout, straight or somewhat curved spines with spines on upper branches simple and those on the lower branches are simple or much branched.
• Leaves : Opposite, coriaceous, elliptic or obovate, obtuse.
• Inflorescence : Terminal corymbose cymes.
• Flowers :
  • White, odorous, bracteates, bracts linear.
  • Calyx 5-lobed, hairy. Corolla salver-shaped, lobes 5.
  • Stamens 5, included within the corolla-mouth, filaments very short, anthers linear, disk absent. Ovary superior, 2-celled, ovules 4 in each cell, stigma hairy.
• Fruit : Berry ovoid or ellipsoid, purplish-black when ripe, 4 or more seeded.
• Flowering and Fruiting time : December to April
• Significance :
  • The fruits are edible and pickles are prepared from it.
  • Roots are employed in cases of stomach ache as well as boiled in water and used against snake-bite.
  • An infusion is given in fevers.