"The long cone like trees in the gardens roadsides also called Ashoka tree but false Ashoka is Monoon longifolium, also commonly known by its synonym Polyalthia longifoliais an Asian small tree species in the family Annonaceae. It is native to southern India and Sri Lanka, but has been widely introduced elsewhere in tropical Asia. Polyalthia means “many cures " This evergreen tree is known to grow over 20 m. in height is commonly planted due to its effectiveness in alleviating noise pollution. It exhibits symmetrical pyramidal growth with willowy weeping pendulous branches and long narrow lanceolate leaves with undulate margins.
Though appears like a single stem with no branches but in fact a non hybrid plant allowed to grow naturally without trimming the branches out for decorative reasons grows into a normal large tree giving plenty of shade. The False ashoka was cultivated and gained popularity in British India for nostalgic reasons because it resembled the tall, harrow Italian cypress. It also was used for ships' masts as It does not usually require pruning in order to maintain its tall, straight, main trunk with short, drooping branches. The Emerging or new leaves have a coppery brown pigmentation; as the leaves grow older, the color becomes a light green and, finally, a dark green.The leaves are lanceolate and have wavy edges. and are larval food plant of the tailed jay and the kite, swallowtail ,and butterflies. In spring, the tree is covered with tiny, delicate star-like pale green flowers. usually just for two to three weeks. #Fruit is borne in clusters of 10–20, initially green turning purple or black when ripe & are eaten by birds such as the Asian koel, Eudynamys scolopaceus, and fruit bats,and flying foxes. The leaves are used for ornamental decoration during festivals in place of mango leaves . As already told the tree is a focal point in gardens throughout India. The tree can be pruned into various shapes, maintained in required sizes. The flexible, straight and light- weight trunks were once used in the making of masts for sailing ships hence the tree is also known as the Mast Tree. Today, its wood is mostly used for manufacturing small articles such as pencils, boxes, matchsticks, etc. The oil of the seed has been confirmed to possess anti-oxidant, anti-lipooxygenase and antimicrobial against various microbe strains activities. M. longifolium does control chloroquine resistant strains of Plasmodium berghei. Methanolic extractof M longifolium have yielded 20 known and two new organic compounds some of which show cytotoxic properties. The fatty acid composition of the seed has also been reported . Polyalthia longifolia has several medicinal properties and has been used in traditional medicine for treatment of dermatological ailments as herpes viral infection and also to treat fevers of unknown origin. The bark of P. longifolia is used as an adulterant and used as Ashoka due to its easy availability in nature. In sanskrit it is called "Kaashta daru". The therapeutic efficacy of Plant extensively used in Indian System of Medicine has been established through modern testing and evaluation both preclinical and clinical trials in different disease conditions. These studies place the indigenous drug for bioprospection and drug development for the treatment of diseases, such as cancer, infectious diseases, diabetes, and various inflammatory conditions. Longifolia leaves are used for washing itches, while its fruits are used in curing dysentery. Its bark is mostly used as a vermifuge, while the taproots are used to treat high blood pressure, and the root bark is used for the treatment of diarrhea and fever. #P. longifolia extract consists mostly of steroids flavonoids, clerodane diterpenes, cleroda-oic acids and alkaloids .To date, more than 30 studies have analyzed extracts from bark, leaves, roots, seeds, etc., of the plant & reported a total of approximately 100 compounds.
Ref
Chikitsak Prakosht VAP Telangana"
