Salvadora oleoides

• Botanical Name : Salvadora oleoides Decne.
• Common Name : Mithijar, Pilu
• Plant Family : Salvadoraceae
• Plant Form : Tree
• Occurrence (Sectors) : 10, 30
• Occurrence (Special Areas) : Gujarat Forestry Research Foundation, Indroda Park, Van Chetana Kendra, Aranya Van

About Salvadora oleoides Plant :

• Habit : A shrub or a small tree with a thick and twisted trunk, branches drooping like the "Weeping Willow".
• Leaves : Long and narrow, opposite, brittle, glabrous.
• Inflorescence : Axillary Spikes.
• Flowers :
  • Greenish white, sessile in axillary spikes.
  • Calyx divided to about the middle, lobes 4.
  • Corolla a little longer than the calyx.Stamens 4.
• Fruit : Drupes yellow or white or red when ripe.
• Flowering and Fruiting Time : January onwards.
• Significance :
  • The leaves are purgative.
  • The root bark is vesicant.
  • The fruit is eaten by humans and is said to be aphrodisiac.