Description

Needle Bush is an ornamental plant in the Salvadoraceae family. Common Name: Bee Sting Bush. This plant is commonly known as 'Yashankala' in ayurveda. It's foliage is an important medicine for post-pregnancy treatments, the same is also used for 'karkidaka treatments' which is famous in Kerala. Needle Bush is a much-branched, spiny, evergreen shrub growing from 0.5 - 3 metres tall. Usually erect with arching branches, the plant sometimes adopts a more climbing habit. The spines are axillary, in pairs up to 4cm long.

Characteristics:

Needle Bush is a rambling shrubs with spines in leaf-axils, usually 4, straight, up to 2.5 cm, grooved, branchlets tetragonous, velvet-hairy. Leaves are oppositely arranged, 3 x 2 cm, ovate, with a fine point, base blunt, margin thickened, leathery, nerves 3 pairs near the base; leaf-stalk up to 5 mm. Flowers are tiny, borne in spikes in leaf-axils and at branch-ends, up to 10 cm long. Flowers are clustered, white, unisexual; bracts 2 x 1 mm, ovate, mucronate, velvet-hairy; calyx 1 mm, bell-shaped, bilobed, velvet-hairy; petals 4, 2 x 1 mm, oblong; stamens 4, free, alternating with petals, filaments 1 mm, anthers 1 mm, pistillode absent. The fruit is a spherical green to white berry around 5-10 mm in diameter, containing 1-2 seeds. Needle Bush is found throughout the Paleotropics, including India.

Medicinal Uses:

The sap of the plant is applied directly to treat toothache and bleeding gums after tooth extraction and also as a disinfectant. The roots are used in the treatment of rheumatism, dropsy and stomach disorders. The pounded roots are applied directly to snakebites, whilst an infusion is also taken orally as a treatment for them. The root bark is used in the treatment of rheumatism. The leaves are stimulant. They are eaten with food as a treatment for rheumatism. The leaf juice is used in the treatment of asthma and coughs caused by phthisis. The pickled leaves are used as an appetizer and against colds. An infusion of the leaves is used to treat venereal diseases. The crushed leaves are applied directly to painful teeth, whilst the leaf juice is applied to the ears to treat earaches. The juice of the berries is applied directly into the ear to treat earache.