Latin Names
Saraca asoca (Roxb.) De Wilde /
Saraca indica auct. non linn.
Saraca indica auct. non linn.
English Names
Ashoka
Sanskrit Name
Ashoka,
Gandhapushpa
Gandhapushpa
Hindi Name
Ashok
A small evergreen tree. The leaves are paripinnate and the leaflets 6-12, oblong and rigidly sub-coriaceous. The flowers are orange or orange-yellow, eventually turning vermillion, very fragrant, in dense axillary corymbs; the pods, flat, leathery, the seeds, 4-8, ellipsoid-oblong and compressed.
A steroidal component and calcium salt.
The bark, which is the drug, is reported to have a stimulating effect on the endometrium and ovarian tissue and is useful in menorrhagia due to uterine fibroids, in leucorrhea and in internal bleeding. It is useful in all cases of uterine bleeding where ergot is indicated.