Mahua longifolia(Mee) is an Indian tropical tree found largely in the central and north Indian plains and forests. The fat (solid at ambient temperature) is used for the care of the skin, to manufacture soap or detergents, and as a vegetable butter. It can also be used as a fuel oil.The seed cakes obtained after extraction of oil constitute very good fertilizer.
The flowers are used to produce an alcoholic drink in tropical India ‘mahua’.The tree is considered a boon by the native tribes who are forest dwellers and keenly conserve this tree. In Sri Lanka this tree signified as cultural ecosystem helper where the tree will be infested with bats who eat the fruit defecate, which is a good form of fertiliser for the farmers who cultivate.
Height : up to about 20 m tall
Leaves : 12-23 cm long, 4-12 cm broad; petiole short
Related medicinal properties : Antidote, Antimicrobial
Flower : yellowish white, fleshy, in dense fascicles near the end of branches; pedicles slender, drooping near the end of branches.
Fruit : ovate, 2.5-5 cm long, green, yellowish when ripened. Seeds 1-4 crustaceous.
Edible parts : the flower used to make alcoholic drink in india.
Ayurvedic usage : Urticaria, Fracture, Snake-bite poisoning, Rheumatism, Skin diseases, Glandular swelling in the neck & throat
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