Badamier de l’IndeTerminalia arjuna
Category
- Rivers
Description
Terminalia arjuna locally known as Badamier de l’Inde is a tree that belongs to the Terminalia family. It is exotic to Mauritius and was introduced in 1850 or before. The tree can grow up to 30 meters tall. Branches drop from the large canopy at its crown. Its oblong leaves are green on the top surface and brown underneath. It has a buttressed trunk with brownish-grey bark, peeling in areas and smooth in others and a shallow root system that spreads radially along stream banks. Its flowers are pale yellow. The tree produces five-part fibrous woody fruit.
Habitat and ecology
The tree is native to Bangladesh and India and is most commonly found along river banks or near dry river beds, being characteristic of dry tropical riverine forests, tropical moist and dry deciduous forests.
Conservation and management
The species is very common throughout its native and introduced range and is currently not listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is one of the most common trees found along river banks in Mauritius and has a tendency to naturalize.
Did you know?
T. arjuna has been used for millennia in ayurvedic medicine, as a treatment for heart disease, as well as a treatment for wounds, haemorrhages and ulcers.
