2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Pencil (lat. Carissa congesta, Carissa carandas) - a fruit plant from the Kutrovy family.
Description
Pencil is an extremely attractive evergreen shrub plant, the height of which is most often in the range of three to five meters. Each shrub boasts an incredibly dense crown and fairly strong branching, and their branches are densely covered with sharp little thorns, the length of which can reach five centimeters. This property makes carande one of the most desirable hedge plants.
The length of the elliptical or oval leaves of the caranda, in pairs located on the branches, reaches from two and a half to seven and a half centimeters. The tops of the leaves are dark green, glossy and leathery, and their undersides are lighter in color.
Caranda fruits are characterized by an oval or spherical shape, and their diameter ranges from one to two and a half centimeters. Each fruit is covered with a glossy, hard and smooth skin of reddish-brown shades. As the fruit ripens, the skin turns dark purple, almost black.
The flesh of karanda is colored red, somewhat reminiscent of the shade of fresh meat, and contains small inclusions of latex. In the middle of the pulp, you can find two to eight brownish and flat seeds of relatively small size. As for the taste of the pulp, it is usually sweet and sour with a subtle bitterness.
Where grows
The homeland of Qaranda is considered to be such states of Southeast and South Asia as Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Malaysia and India. True, at home it is cultivated mainly as a protective plantation, intended for the construction of hedges, consolidation of soils, and so on. For the sake of fruit, this crop is grown in Cambodia, the Philippines, in several East African countries, as well as in the south of Vietnam and Thailand. As for the American countries, quarantine can be seen extremely rarely there, since it has not yet received proper distribution there. By the way, the pencil is found even in mountainous areas, where the height reaches 1800 meters above sea level.
Application
The fruits of karanda of sweet varieties are often eaten fresh, and sour varieties of hostesses are willingly stewed with sugar. Unripe sour fruits are often pickled, and sweet unripe fruits are excellent raw materials for making jellies and jams. As for Asian countries, there the fruits of karande are actively used for making curries, puddings and cakes.
Pencil is an indispensable source of vitamin C. Its fruits will be excellent helpers for all patients with jaundice, as they are very rich in special hepatoprotective substances that reliably protect liver cells from the harmful and destructive effects of toxins (and alcohol breakdown products as well). And unripe fruits are used by doctors as an astringent.
A decoction of caranda leaves is an excellent remedy for diarrhea and an excellent remedy for earache. In addition, it is good for various inflammatory diseases of the oral cavity.
Caranda roots are rich in salicylic acid and cardiac glycosides, which help reduce blood pressure, and the decoction of the roots is often used as an anthelmintic.
Contraindications
When using quaranta, the likelihood of allergic reactions or individual intolerance cannot be completely ruled out.
Growing and caring
Karanda is not at all demanding on the soil - it will certainly delight you with excellent harvests, even if you grow it on stony and sandy soils. She is also very light-requiring. As for the undersized forms of caranda, they can be grown without much difficulty on window sills.
