Phyllanthus emblica | |
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Plant | |
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Fruit, whole and halved | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Malpighiales |
Family: | Phyllanthaceae |
Genus: | Phyllanthus |
Species: | P. emblica |
Binomial name | |
Phyllanthus emblica | |
Synonyms [3] [4] | |
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Phyllanthus emblica, also known as emblic, [2] [5] emblic myrobalan, [2] myrobalan, [5] Indian gooseberry, [2] [5] Malacca tree, [5] amloki or amla, [5] is a deciduous tree of the family Phyllanthaceae. Its native range is tropical and southern Asia. [4]
The tree is small to medium in size, reaching 1–8 metres (3+1⁄2–26 feet) in height. The bark is mottled. The branchlets are finely pubescent (not glabrous), 10–20 centimetres (4–8 inches) long, usually deciduous. The leaves are simple, subsessile and closely set along branchlets, light green, resembling pinnate leaves. The flowers are greenish–yellow. The fruit is nearly spherical, light greenish–yellow, quite smooth and hard on appearance, with six vertical stripes or furrows. The fruit is up to 26 millimetres (1 in) in diameter, and, while the fruit of wild plants weigh approximately 5.5 grams (0.2 ounces), cultivated fruits average 28.4 g (1 oz) to 56 g (2 oz). [6]
The fruits contain high amounts of ascorbic acid (vitamin C), [7] and have a bitter taste that may derive from a high density of ellagitannins, [8] such as emblicanin A (37%), emblicanin B (33%), punigluconin (12%), and pedunculagin (14%). [9] Amla also contains punicafolin and phyllanemblinin A, phyllanemblin other polyphenols, such as flavonoids, kaempferol, ellagic acid, and gallic acid. [8] [10]
Ripening in autumn, the berries are harvested by hand after climbing to upper branches bearing the fruits. The taste of Indian emblic is sour, bitter and astringent, and it is quite fibrous.
The amla fruit may be eaten raw or cooked, and in South Asia, the fruit is often pickled with salt, oil, and spices. It is used as an ingredient in dishes including dal (a lentil preparation), and is also made into amle ka murabbah , a sweet dish made by soaking the berries in sugar syrup until they are candied. It is traditionally consumed after meals.[ citation needed ]
In the Batak area of Sumatra, Indonesia, the inner bark is used to impart an astringent, bitter taste to the broth of a traditional fish soup known as holat. [11]
In Ayurveda, dried and fresh fruits of the plant are used as a common constituent. [8] [12]
In the Buddhist tradition there are many references to the fruit of the emblic myrobalan. In the Śatapañcāśatka, Buddha's knowledge is described in a poetic simile: "O Bhagavan, the entire origination of all types of phenomena throughout time is within the range of your mind, like an ambalan fruit in the palm of your hand". [13]
Half an amla fruit was the final gift to the Buddhist sangha by the great Indian emperor Ashoka. This is illustrated in the Ashokavadana in the following verses: "A great donor, the lord of men, the eminent Maurya Ashoka, has gone from being lord of Jambudvipa [the continent] to being lord of half a myrobalan". [14] In Theravada Buddhism, this plant is said to have been used as the tree for achieving enlightenment, or Bodhi, by the twenty-first Buddha, named Phussa Buddha. [15]
In Hinduism, the myrobalan, called the āmalaka in Sanskrit, is sacred to all three members of the Trimurti, the Hindu supreme trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. According to legend, during a religious gathering, Lakshmi, Vishnu's consort, expressed a desire to worship Shiva, while Parvati, Shiva's consort, wished to worship Vishnu. Moved by each other's piety, they shed tears upon the earth, from which emerged the first myrobalan trees. [16] The Amalaka Ekadashi is a Hindu occasion dedicated to Vishnu, venerating the myrobalan.
Chyavanprash, originally Chayavanaprasham, is a cooked mixture of sugar, honey, ghee, Indian gooseberry (amla) jam, sesame oil, berries and various herbs and spices. It is prepared as per the instructions suggested in Ayurvedic texts. Chyavanprash is widely sold and consumed in India as a dietary supplement.
Phyllanthus is the largest genus in the plant family Phyllanthaceae. Estimates of the number of species in this genus vary widely, from 750 to 1200. Phyllanthus has a remarkable diversity of growth forms including annual and perennial herbs, shrubs, climbers, floating aquatics, and pachycaulous succulents. Some have flattened leaflike stems called cladodes. It has a wide variety of floral morphologies and chromosome numbers and has one of the widest range of pollen types of any seed plant genus.
Phyllanthus acidus, known as the Otaheite gooseberry, Malay gooseberry, Tahitian gooseberry, country gooseberry, star gooseberry, starberry, arbari, West India gooseberry, Grosella, or simply gooseberry tree, is one of the trees with small edible yellow berries in the family Phyllanthaceae. Despite its name, the plant does not resemble the gooseberry, except for the acidity of its fruits.
Terminalia bellirica, known as baheda, bahera, behada, beleric or bastard myrobalan, Persian بلیله (Balileh), Sanskrit: Vibhītaka बिभीतक, Aksha अक्ष) is a large deciduous tree in the Combretaceae family. It is common on the plains and lower hills in South and Southeast Asia, where it is also grown as an avenue tree. The basionym is Myrobalanus bellirica Gaertn.. William Roxburgh transferred M. bellirica to Terminalia as "T. bellerica (Gaertn.) Roxb.". This spelling error is now widely used, causing confusion. The correct name is Terminalia bellirica (Gaertn.) Roxb.
The common name myrobalan can refer to several unrelated fruit-bearing plant species:
Spondias mombin, also known as yellow mombin, hog plum, amra or cajazeira, is a species of tree and flowering plant in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to the tropical Americas, including the West Indies. The tree was introduced by the Portuguese in South Asia in the beginning of the 17th century. It has been naturalized in parts of Africa, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, The Bahamas, Indonesia, and other Caribbean islands. It is rarely cultivated except in parts of the Brazilian Northeast.
Ben oil is pressed from the seeds of the Moringa oleifera, known variously as the horseradish tree, ben oil tree, or drumstick tree. The oil is characterized by an unusually long shelf life and a mild, but pleasant taste. The name of the oil is derived from the presence of behenic acid. The oil's components are:
A sacred tree or holy tree is a tree which is considered to be sacred, or worthy of spiritual respect or reverence. Such trees appear throughout world history in various cultures including the ancient Hindu mythology, Greek, Celtic and Germanic mythologies. They also continue to hold profound meaning in contemporary culture in places like Japan (shinboku), Korea, India, and the Philippines, among others. Tree worship is core part of religions which include aspects of animism as core elements of their belief, which is the belief that trees, forests, rivers, mountains, etc. have a life force.
Diospyros kaki, the Oriental persimmon, Chinese persimmon, Japanese persimmon or kaki persimmon, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Diospyros. Although its first botanical description was not published until 1780, D. kaki cultivation in China dates back more than 2000 years.
Terminalia chebula, commonly known as black- or chebulic myrobalan, is a species of Terminalia, native to South Asia from Pakistan, India and Nepal east to southwest China (Yunnan), and south to Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
Preserved lemon or lemon pickle is a condiment that is common in the cuisines of Indian subcontinent and Morocco. It was also found in 18th-century English cuisine.
Panchavati is an ancient holy city in Nasik, Maharashtra, India; the place of vanavasa (banishment) of Rama in the ancient Indian epic Ramayana.
Sources: Common Trees of India, Pippa Mukherjee, World Wildlife Fund India/ Oxford University Press 1983, Flowering Trees and Shrubs in India, D.V. Cowen
Leucodelphinidin is a colorless chemical compound related to leucoanthocyanidins. It can be found in Acacia auriculiformis, in the bark of Karada and in the kino (gum) from Eucalyptus pilularis.
Punigluconin is an ellagitannin, a polyphenol compound. It is found in the bark of Punica granatum (pomegranate) and in Emblica officinalis. It is a molecule having a hexahydroxydiphenic acid group and two gallic acids attached to a gluconic acid core.
Pedunculagin is an ellagitannin. It is formed from casuarictin via the loss of a gallate group.
An amalaka, is a segmented or notched stone disk, usually with ridges on the rim, that sits on the top of a Hindu temple's shikhara or main tower. According to one interpretation, the amalaka represents a lotus, and thus the symbolic seat for the deity below. Another interpretation is that it symbolizes the sun, and is thus the gateway to the heavenly world.
Amalaka Ekadashi or Amalaki Ekadashi is a Hindu holy day, celebrated on the 11th day (ekadashi) of the waxing moon, in the lunar month of Phalguna (February–March). It is a celebration of the amalaka or amla tree, known as the Indian gooseberry.
The Ch. Devi Lal Rudraksh Vatika Herbal Nature Park, in short Rudraksh Vatika, is a 184 acre forested wildlife area, wetland and herbal park for the conservation of biodiversity of over 400 endangered ayurvedic medicinal herbs in Shivalik foothills of Himalayas. It is located on the western bank of Western Yamuna Canal, 1.3 km east of NH-907, in Chuharpur Kalan village of Yamunanagar district of Haryana state in India.