CASSIA FISTULA

Common name: Amaltas, Golden shower tree, Indian Laburnum • Hindi: अमलतास Amaltas • Manipuri: চহুঈ Chahui • Tamil: கொன்றை Konrai • Malayalam: Vishu konnai • Marathi: बहावा Bahava • Mizo: Ngaingaw • Bengali: সোনালী Sonali, Bandarlati, Amultas • Urdu: املتاس Amaltas

Botanical name: Cassia fistula     

Family: Caesalpiniaceae (Gulmohar family)

Geographical distribution

It occurs throughout India upto an altitude of about 1,500 m, and is more common in moist and evergreen forests. The plant is cultivated along roadsides and gardens.

Introduction: This native of India, commonly known as Amaltaas, is one of the most beautiful of all tropical trees when it sheds its leaves and bursts into a mass of long, grape-bunches like yellow gold flowers. A tropical ornamental tree with a trunck consisting of hard reddish wood, growing up to 40 feet tall. The wood is hard and heavy; it is used for cabinet, inlay work, etc. It has showy racemes, up to 2" long, with bright, yellow, fragrant flowers. These flowers are attractive to bees and butterflies. The fruits are dark-brown cylindrical pods, also 2' long, which also hold the flattish, brown seeds (up to 100 in one pod) These seeds are in cells, each containing a single seed. A postal stamp was issued by the Indian Postal Department to commemorate this tree. 

Chemical composition

Leaves contain anthraquinone derivatives and very little tannin; root-bark beside tannin, contains phlobaphenes and oxyanthraquinone. Fruit pulp contains rhein, the major anthrax-quinone derivative and small amount of volatile oil.

Medicinal uses:

The fruit pulp is emetic, febrifuge, laxative and purgative. Useful in boils, pustules, leprosy ringworm, colic, flatulence, dyspepsia, constipation and heart diseases. The leaves are emollient, their juice or their paste is useful dressing for ringworm and chilblains, for relieving irritation caused by marking nut juice and for relief of dropsical swellings; for relief of rheumatism and facial paralysis the leaves are rubbed into the affected parts.The sweet blackish pulp of the seedpod is used as a mild laxative.

Folk medicinal uses

Two gm. of the pulp is given with an equal quantity of sugar as a purgative. In cases of very high fever when patient looses sense, pulp of 1 pod of amaltas is made into decoction in 30 ml. water and to this old gur is added. This is given in the dose of 12 ml. thrice daily for 4-5 days.For treating pneumonia, pulp from pods of amaltas is made into decoction with old gur and given in the dose of 12 ml. six times a day for 4 days.

Preparations

Argvadhadi-kshar, aragbadhyadi-taila, aragbadhadi-leha and aragbadhadarista, aragbodhyadi-kwath.

Flowers : April-July Fruits : October

NOTE : Cassia angustifolia Vahl. has same Folk medicinal uses as Cassia fistula Linn.