Description

Oblong Leaf Salacia (Salacia oblonga), known as oblong leaf salacia in English, ekanayaka in Kannada, ponkorandi in Malayalam, ponkoranti in tamil, and ekanayake in Tulu, is a climbing shrub that tends to strangle other plants. It is native to India and Sri Lanka.

Characteristics:

Oblong Leaf Salacia is a stout climbing shrub with branchlets densely warty. Warts are elongate. Leaves are up to 21 x 8 cm, oblong, pointed or blunt at apex, narrow at base, green when dry, nerves 8-10 pairs, stalk 1 cm long. Stalks bearing inflorescence are short, stout, many-flowered. Flowers are many, greenish yellow. Sepals are 1.5 mm across, circular, petals 2.5 mm long, ovate. Berry is about 4 cm across, orange-red, smooth. Oblong Leaf Salacia is found in evergreen and semi-evergreen forests of South India and Sri Lanka. Flowering: March-May.

Medicinal Uses:

Salacia has a long history of use as a treatment for diabetes in Ayurveda, traditional Indian medicine. Mugs made from salacia wood are used by people with diabetes to drink water.