Sea Mango

Common name: Sea Mango, Madagascar ordeal bean,Odollam tree, pink-eyed cerbera, dog-bane • Marathi: Sukanu • Tamil: kodalma, kattarali, kottuma, caat aralie • Malayalam: utalam, chattankaya • Kannada: Chande, monde
Botanical name: Cerbera manghas Family: Apocynaceae (Oleander family)
Synonyms: Cerbera venenifera, Tanghinia venenifera
Sea Mango is a small evergreen coastal tree growing up 12 m tall. The shiny dark-green leaves are alternate, ovoid in shape. The flowers are fragrant, possessing a white tubular 5 lobed corolla about 3 to 5 cm in diameter, with a pink to red throat. They have 5 stamens and the ovary is positioned above the other flower parts. The fruits are egg-shaped, 5-10 cm long, and turn bright red at maturity. Sea Mango is native to Madagascar, South-East Asia, and many Pacific islands. Flowering: April-August.
Medicinal uses: The seed oil in plasters applied to the skin is effective for scabies and prurigo, and applied to the hair kills head-lice. The glycosides extracted from the seeds are active on heart failure. The trunk bark or the leaves are occasionally used as a purgative, but strict precautions must be taken because of their high toxicity.