48-FICUS BENGHALENSIS L. Hort.
Local name: Wad
Family: Moraceae
Location: In front of administrative building.
Characters: Huge trees with spreading branches and sending down many aerial roots from branches. Leaves coriaceous, alternate, ovate, orbicular ovate or elliptic, receptacles globose, sessile in axillary pairs, numerous tepals 4, lanceolate, stamen one. Gall flowers similar to males but with short style. Female flowers with 4-telaps as in males and ovary with elongate style, achenes ovoid brown.
Widely planted along roadsides, near villages etc. throughout the district.
General use: It is a sacred plant for Hindus. Ladies worship the tree on ‘Vadsavitri poni’. Leaves used as fodder, wood is used for yolk, poles, shafts and for making paper pulp.
Medicinal use: The latex is used externally to reduce body pain. It is antiseptic applied on wounds. Stem bark used in dysentery and diabetes. Leaves are antimicrobial and if eaten removes mouth ulcers. Infusion used as diarrhoea, growing tips to stop vomiting. Fruits are acrid, demulcent, emollient, ripe fruits are eaten by local people. Infusion of bark used as tonic, astringent used in dysentery. Root fibres used in gonorrhoea.
Veterinary use: Roots used in bone fracture, gastric problem, latex is used on neck injury.