Careya arborea facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Careya arborea
Careya arborea
Scientific classification
Synonyms
Barringtonia arborea (Roxb.) F.Muell. Careya sphaerica Roxb. Cumbia coneanae Buch.-Ham. Careya venenata Oken Careya orbiculata Miers

Careya arborea is a type of tree found in countries like India, Afghanistan, and parts of Southeast Asia. People often call it wild guava, Ceylon oak, or patana oak.

This tree can grow quite tall, up to 15 meters (about 49 feet). It's a deciduous tree, which means its leaves change color and fall off, usually turning red in colder weather. Its flowers are yellow or white and grow into large green berries. You can find Careya arborea growing in forests and grasslands across India.

Names for Careya arborea

Careya arborea tree

This tree has many different names depending on the language and region. Here are some of its common names:

• Assamese - Godhajam কুম Kum, kumari, কুম্ভী kumbhi
• Bengali - Vakamba, Kumhi, Kumbhi
• Burmese - ban bwe (ဘန့်ပွေး)
• Garo - Dimbil bol
• Hindi - कुम्भी Kumbhi
• Kannada - alagavvele, daddal, Koulu mara
• Khasi - Ka Mahir, Soh Kundur
• Khmer - Kandaol (កណ្ដោល)
• Malayalam - പേഴ് Peezh, Peelam, Pela, Paer, Alam
• Marathi - कुम्भा Kumbha
• Oriya - Kumbh
• Sanskrit - Bhadrendrani, गिरिकर्णिका Girikarnika, Kaidarya, कालिंदी Kalindi
• Sinhala - Kahata
• Tamil - பேழை Peezhai, Aima, Karekku, Puta-tanni-maram
• Telugu - araya, budatadadimma, budatanevadi, buddaburija
• Thai - kradone (กระโดน)
• Vietnamese - Vừng (sometimes Vừng xoan)

How People Use Careya arborea

People have found many uses for different parts of the Careya arborea tree.

Historical Uses

A long time ago, when India was under colonial rule, the strong, stringy bark of this tree was used. It was a good replacement for beech bark. People used it to make matches for matchlocks, which were old types of guns.

Traditional Uses in Myanmar

In Myanmar (formerly Burma), the leaves of Careya arborea are traditionally used to roll cheroots. Cheroots are like cigars.

The town of Pyay in Myanmar is famous for a special snack called taw laphet. This snack is a type of fermented tea leaf. It is tightly wrapped in Careya arborea leaves. This helps to ferment and preserve the tea leaves.

Eating Parts of the Tree

In Thailand, the flowers and young leaves of Careya arborea are eaten. People use them as fresh salad greens. The young fruit of the tree can also be eaten. However, the seeds inside the fruit are slightly poisonous, so it's best not to eat them.

Images for kids

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  Fruit in Narsapur, Medak district, India.

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  Fruit with leaves in Narsapur, Medak district, India.

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  Leaves in Narsapur, Medak district, India.

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  Trunk in Narsapur, Medak district, India.

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  Grey Count Tanaecia lepidea caterpillar on Careya arborea sapling in Goa, India.

See also

In Spanish: Careya arborea para niños