Eugenia . uniflora L.
മുളക്‌നെല്ലി


Family: MYRTACEAE
Sub-Family: Not available
English Name: Surinam Cherry
Synonym: Eugenia myrtifolia Salisb.
Common Name: Barbados cherry, Brazilian Cherry
Flowering & Fruiting Period: March-July
Distribution: Native of tropical America
Habitat: Cultivated
Uses: Fruit - used when fully ripe, it is delicious when eaten raw, and can also be made into jams, jellies, pies, juices, sherbets etc. The aromatic leaves are used as a tea substitute. Leaves are astringent, febrifuge, stomachic and tonic. An infusion is used to remedy head colds, influenza, chest colds, coughs and fevers. Crushed and steeped in boiling water, they are used as a wash to soothe irritated skin. The fruits are used to reduce blood pressure. Compounds in the stems and leaves show possible antimicrobial activity. Plants are tolerant of shearing and can be grown as a hedge. The leaves are used as an insect repellent. The crushed leaves release a pungent oil which is used as an insect repellent. The wood is moderately heavy, hard, compact and very durable.
Key Characteristics: Much branched large shrubs. Leaves opposite. Flowers 1-3, axillary, white. Fruit depressed-globose, prominently ribbed, succulent, crimson, with small, prominent apical calyx segments.