Thanks for the useful information, Viplov ji. In Tamil Nadu, the yellow sap from young fruits is applied, by rubbing the cut surface of fruit over affected part of the skin, for the treatment of skin diseases.
Regards Vijayasankar Raman National Center for Natural Products Research University of Mississippi On Wed, Dec 12, 2012 at 11:47 PM, Prashant Ambedkar < [email protected]> wrote: > Thanks Viplav ji... I did not know about this feature of the Bhendi > tree. Yesterday I made a cut in a small fruit and the yelow liquid > came out ... i wiped it with a kerchif and I realize that the colour > does not go even after washing!!! > > On Wed, Dec 12, 2012 at 6:33 PM, Rashmi Khiani <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > > Thanks a lot Viplav ji for showing an uncommon characteristic of this > > tree, I never knew about it before. I have some of these Bhendi trees > > near my house in Mumbai. > > > > On Tue, Dec 11, 2012 at 10:24 PM, Sonia Chauhan <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > > > > Excellent post! Often we tend to dismiss the widespread trees with a > > > passing glance, so it is fascinating to learn something so interesting > > > about a common tree. Thanks Viplav for sharing these remarkable > > > observations. > > > > > > On 10 December 2012 12:34, [email protected] <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > > > > > > Sharing some fresh insights into one of the commonest trees in and > around Mumbai. On a recent visit to a tribal hamlet in Dahanu, I > encountered some natives collecting the fruit of Thespesia populnea. On > probing further, one of them slashed a young green fruit and it discharged > a copious amount of rich yellow juice that is used as a decorative pigment; > in this case, to paint the hooves of their cattle! Later, while discussing > this with a senior Warli musician and artist, I learnt that this pigment is > used occasionally in minor embellishments. > > > > > > > > Further investigation revealed that this substance is gossypol. > While The Trees of Mumbai (by Almeida & Chaturvedi, pg. 159) mentions that > "the seeds contain a chemical called gossypol", the yellow exudate from the > fruit wall appears to be discounted in customary descriptions of this tree. > Here is an interesting account of this facet in a paper on this species > by Francis Raymond Fosberg & Marie-Hélène Sachet: > > > > > > > > "When a bud or young fruit is cut transversally a copious yellow, > gummy fluid exudes from the surfaces. We had not seen this mentioned > before, nor were we aware of latex in any Malvaceae. Roxburgh, however, > mentioned it in his discussion of Thespesia (as Hibiscus) in the Flora > Indica, 1832 (vide infra); a label on a plant collected by Lt. Speke on > Europa Island (P) also describes the appearance of a canary-colored juice > on cutting a green fruit ... Dr. Paul Fryxell (in litt.) tells us that this > yellow substance is mostly gossypol. It probably should not be called latex > in the strict sense." - Smithsonian Contributions to Botany, Volume 7, 1972. > > > > > > > > Didn't have a camera on hand but have attached a mobile phone > snapshot. > > > > > > > > Best wishes, Viplav > > > > > > > > -- > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > Regards, > > > > > > Sonia Chauhan > > > > > > -- > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > Kind regards, Rashmi > > > > -- > > > > > > > > > > -- > Prashant > > -- > > > > --
