Phyllanthus emblica, also known as emblic, emblic myrobalan,myrobalan, Indian gooseberry, Malacca tree, or amla from Sanskrit amalaki is a deciduous tree of the family Phyllanthaceae. It has edible fruit, referred to by the same name.
In the Sanskrit Buddhist tradition, half an amalaka 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” (Strong, 1983, p. 99).[4] In Theravada Buddhism, this plant is said to have been used as the tree for achieving enlightenment, or Bodhi by twenty first Buddha named Phussa Buddha.
Flower : 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.
Fruit : The berries are harvested by hand after climbing to upper branches bearing the fruits. The taste is sour, bitter and sweet, and it is quite fibrous. In India, it is common to eat emblic steeped in salt water and red chilli powder to make the sour fruits palatable.
Ayurvedic usage : Burning sensation, Diabetes mellitus, Skin diseases, Headaches, Mental disorders, Hemorrhoids, Coughs, Asthma, Tuberculosis, Excessive thirst, Leucorrhoea, Menorrhagia, Abdominal diseases.
Height : 1–8 m (3 ft 3 in–26 ft 3 in) in height
Leaves : leaves on the main branches reduced to scales. Deciduous branchlets mostly 10-25 cm long, with 30-100leaves. Stipules triangular, 0.8-1.5 mm long.Leaf lamina 12-20 x (1-)2-5 mm.
Related medicinal properties : Improves vision, Helps to keep heart healthy, Increases memory power, Improves hair growth, Appetizer.
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