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Madhuca longifolia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Sapotaceae
Genus:	Madhuca
Species:	M. longifolia
Binomial name
Madhuca longifolia (J.Konig) J.F.Macbr.

Madhuca longifolia is an Indian tropical tree found largely in the central, southern, north Indian plains and forests, Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. It is commonly known as madhūka, mahura, madkam, mahuwa, Butter Tree, mahura, mahwa, mohulo, Iluppai , Mee or Ippa-chettu. It is a fast-growing tree that grows to approximately 20 meters in height, possesses evergreen or semi-evergreen foliage, and belongs to the family Sapotaceae. It is adaptable to arid environments, being a prominent tree in tropical mixed deciduous forests in India in the states of Maharashtra, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

Uses

It is cultivated in warm and humid regions for its oleaginous seeds (producing between 20 and 200 kg of seeds annually per tree, depending on maturity), flowers and wood. The fat (solid at ambient temperature) is used for the care of the skin, to manufacture soap or detergents, and as a vegetable butter. It can also be used as a fuel oil. The seed cakes obtained after extraction of oil constitute very good fertilizer. The flowers are used to produce an alcoholic drink in tropical India. This drink is also known to affect animals. Several parts of the tree, including the bark, are used for their medicinal properties. It is considered holy by many tribal communities because of its usefulness.

The leaves of Madhuca indica (= M. longifolia) are fed on by the moth Antheraea paphia, which produces tassar silk, a form of wild silk of commercial importance in India. Leaves, flowers and fruits are also lopped to feed goats and sheep. The seed oil of 'Madhuca indica' can be utilize to synthesize polymer resin. In one of the attempts, it has been used to prepare alkyd type of polyurethane resins, which are used as a good source of anticorrosion organic coatings.

The Tamils have several uses for M. longifolia (iluppai in Tamil). The saying "aalai illaa oorukku iluppaip poo charkkarai" indicates when there is no cane sugar available, the flower of M. longifolia can be used, as it is very sweet. However, Tamil tradition cautions that excessive use of this flower will result in imbalance of thinking and may even lead to lunacy.

The alkaloids in the press cake of mahura seeds is reportedly used in killing fishes in aquaculture ponds in some parts of India. The cake serves to fertilise the pond, which can be drained, sun dried, refilled with water and restocked with fish fingerlings.

Mahura flowers

The mahura flower is edible and is a food item for tribals. They use it to make syrup for medicinal purposes.

Mahura flowers are rich in total sugars, out of which reducing sugar are present in high amount. The flowers are also fermented to produce the alcoholic beverage also known as mahura wine., Tribals in the central belt of Indian such as of Dahanu, Maharashtra, Surguja and Bastar in Chhattisgarh and peoples of Western Orissa, Santhals of Santhal Paraganas (Jharkhand), Koya tribals of North-East Andhra Pradesh and Bhil tribals in western Madhya Pradesh consider the tree and the mahura drink as part of their cultural heritage. Mahura is an essential drink for tribal men and women during celebrations.

Mahura fruit are an essential food of Maharashtra, Western Odisha and the people of the central belt of India. The tree has a great cultural significance. There are many varieties of food prepared with its fruits and flowers. Also in Maharashtra, Western Odisha people used to pray to this tree during festivals. The spirit produced from the flowers is largely colourless, opaque and not very strong. It is inexpensive and the production is largely done in home stills.

Mahura flowers are also used to manufacture jam, which is made by tribal co-operatives in the Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra.

In many parts of Bihar, such as villages in the district of Siwan, the flowers of mahura tree are sun-dried; these sun-dried flowers are ground to flour and used to make various kinds of breads.

Literature

Wine prepared from Madhūka flowers (Madhuca longifolia) finds mention in several Hindu, Jain and Buddhist literature works. It also finds mention in Ayurveda Samhitas which lists it among several different kinds of wine.

Kali who is seated on a red lotus in full bloom, her beautiful face radiant, watching Mahākāla, who, drunk with the delicious wine of the Mahura flower', is dancing before her..

— Mahānirvaņa Tantra

Sacred tree

Madhūka or Mahura tree is the sacred tree of various temples in South India, including Irumbai Mahaleswarar Temple, Iluppaipattu Neelakandeswarar Temple, Tirukkodimaada Senkundrur at Tiruchengode, and Thiruvanathapuram. The Tamil saint-philosopher Thiruvalluvar is believed to have born under an iluppai tree within the Ekambareshwarar Temple at Mylapore, and hence madhūka remains the sanctum tree of the Valluvar shrine built within the Ekambareshwarar temple complex.

Mahura Oil

• Average oil Content: 32.92 to 57.53%
• Refractive index: 1.452
• Fatty acid composition (acid, %) : palmitic (c16:0) : 24.5, stearic (c18:0) : 22.7, oleic (c18:1) : 37.0, linoleic (c18:2) : 14.3
• Elements : Carbon (C), Calcium (Ca), Nitrogen (N), Magnesium (Mg), Phosphorus (P), Sodium (Na)

Trifed, a website of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India reports: "mahura oil has emollient properties and is used in skin disease, rheumatism and headache. It is also a laxative and considered useful in habitual constipation, piles and haemorrhoids and as an emetic. Native tribes also used it as an illuminant and hair fixer."

It has also been used as biodiesel.

Other names

• Other botanical names: Bassia longifolia L., B. latifolia Roxb., Madhuca indica J. F. Gmel., M. latifolia (Roxb.) J.F.Macbr., Illipe latifolia (Roxb.) F.Muell., Illipe malabrorum (Engl.) Note: the authentic genus Bassia is in the Chenopodiaceae. The names B. longifolia and B. latifolia are illegitimate.
• Varieties:
  • M. longifolia var. latifolia (Roxb.) A.Chev. (=B. latifolia (Roxb))
  • M. longifolia var. longifolia
• Vernacular names:
  • Santali:matkom
  • Bengali:mohua
  • Oriya:"Mahula" "ମହୂଲ"
  • English: honey tree, butter tree
  • French: illipe, arbre à beurre, bassie, madhuca
  • India: moha, mohua, madhuca, kuligam, madurgam, mavagam, nattiluppai, tittinam, mahwa, mahura, mowa, moa, mowrah, mahuda (Gujarati-મહુડા)
  • Marathi: "Mahu" and "muvda" in Pawari local tribal lang (Nandurbar, Maharashtra) / "Moha"
  • Rajasthan: "dolma" in mevadi and marwari
  • Sri Lanka: මී mee in Sinhala
  • Tamil: iluppai (இலுப்பை),
  • Telugu: vippa (విప్ప),
  • Myanmar: ကမ်းဇော်
  • Nepal : Chiuri (चिउरी)
• Synonymous names for this tree in some of the Indian states are mahura and mohwa in Hindi-speaking belt, mahwa, mahula, Mahula in Oriya and maul in Bengal, mahwa and mohwro in Maharashtra, mahuda in Gujarat, ippa puvvu (Telugu: ఇప్ప) in Andhra Pradesh, ippe or hippe in Karnataka (Kannada), illupei or இலுப்பை in Tamil, poonam and ilupa in Kerala (Malayalam) and mahula, moha and modgi in Orissa (Oriya).

Different views and aspects of M. longifolia var. latifolia

• Fruit in Narsapur, Medak district, India
• Fruit with leaves in Narsapur, Medak district, India
• Trunk in Narsapur, Medak district, India
• Tree in Narsapur, Medak district, India
• 
• Leaves in Umaria district, Madhya Pradesh
• mahura Tree in Thrissur, Kerala, India
• Flowers from Melghat Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra

References

1. Suryawanshi, Yogesh Chandrakant; Mokat, Digambar Nabhu (1 March 2021). "Morphophysiological Seed Variability in Mahua Trees from Western Ghats and Its Impact on Tribal Life". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, India Section B: Biological Sciences. 91 (1): 227–239. doi:10.1007/s40011-020-01223-w. S2CID 231876956.
2. Pankaj Oudhia, Robert E. Paull. Butter tree Madhuca latifolia Roxb. Sapotaceae p827-828. Encyclopedia of Fruit and Nuts - 2008, J. Janick and R. E. Paull -editors, CABI, Wallingford, United Kingdom
3. ^ "Product profile, Mahuwa, Trifed, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India". Trifed.nic.in. Archived from the original on 2009-06-19. Retrieved 2013-11-21.
4. "50 drunken elephants ransack village in India, drink 130 gallons of moonshine". 7 November 2012.
5. "Non-Wood Forest Products in 15 Countries Of Tropical Asia : An Overview". Fao.org. Archived from the original on 2014-04-18. Retrieved 2013-11-21.
6. Heuzé V., Tran G., Archimède H., Bastianelli D., Lebas F., 2017. Mahua (Madhuca longifolia). Feedipedia, a programme by INRA, CIRAD, AFZ and FAO. https://www.feedipedia.org/node/131
7. V. J. Patil, 2024. Madhuca indica (Mahua) seed oil towards synthesis of alkyd-type polyurethane anticorrosive coatings. Industrial Crops and Products, Vol. 219, page 119059
8. Dr. J.Raamachandran, HERBS OF SIDDHA MEDICINES-The First 3D Book on Herbs, pp38
9. Keenan, G.I., 1920. The microscopical identification of mohraw meal in insecticides. J. American Pharmaceutical Assoc., Vol. IX, No. 2, pp.144-147
10. T.V.R.Pillay and M.N.Kutty, 2005. Aquaculture: Principles and Practices. 2nd Edition. Blackwell Publishing Ltd., p.623
11. Suryawanshi, Yogesh; Mokat, Digambar (2020). "Variability studies in Madhuca longifolia var. latifolia flowers from Northern Western Ghats of India". Indian Journal of Hill Farming. 33 (2): 261–266.
12. "Mahuwah". India9.com. 2005-06-07. Retrieved 2013-11-21.
13. "Forest department, LIT develop new products from mahua". The Times of India. 2012-12-04. Archived from the original on 2014-02-13.
14. Thomas, P. (1966). Incredible India. |page 97| D. B. Taraporevala Sons
15. An English Translation of the Sushruta Samhita, p461, Kunja Lal Bhishagratna (Kairaj), 1907.
16. Avalon, A. (2017). Mahanirvana Tantra.
17. "Shaivam.org - Devoted to God Shiva - An abode for Hindu God Shiva on the Internet". www.shaivam.org.
18. Ramakrishnan, Deepa H. (15 November 2019). "As a war of words rages outside, peace reigns inside this temple". The Hindu. Chennai: Kasturi & Sons. p. 3. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
19. Suryawanshi, Yogesh; Mokat, Digambar (2021). "Morphophysiological Seed Variability in Mahua Trees from Western Ghats and Its Impact on Tribal Life". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., India, Sect. B Biol. Sci. 91: 227–239. doi:10.1007/s40011-020-01223-w. S2CID 231876956.
20. Suryawanshi, Yogesh; Mokat, Digambar (2019). "GCMS and Elemental Analysis Of Madhuca Longifolia Var. Latifolia Seeds". International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research. 10 (2): 786–789. doi:10.13040/IJPSR.0975-8232.10(2).786-89.
21. "Farm Query - Mahua oil". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 2014-01-22.

External links

• "Madhuca longifolia (J. Konig) J. F. Macbr". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
• Alternative edible oil from mahura seeds, The Hindu
• Mowrah Butter, OilsByNature.com
• Famine Foods
• Use of mahura Oil (Madhuca indica) as a Diesel Fuel Extender
• WWF India mahura
• "What foods did your ancestors love?" Video of presentation by Aparna Pallavi at TEDxCapeTownWomen, with mahura being the central example of a common indigenous food source overlooked by the dominant society.

Bibliography

• Boutelje, J. B. 1980. Encyclopedia of world timbers, names and technical literature.
• Duke, J. A. 1989. Handbook of Nuts. CRC Press.
• Encke, F. et al. 1993. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 14. Auflage.
• Govaerts, R. & D. G. Frodin. 2001. World checklist and bibliography of Sapotaceae.
• Hara, H. et al. 1978–1982. An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal.
• Matthew, K. M. 1983. The flora of the Tamil Nadu Carnatic.
• McGuffin, M. et al., eds. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2.
• Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970–. Flora of Pakistan.
• Pennington, T. D. 1991. The genera of the Sapotaceae.
• Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) - on-line resource.
• Saldanha, C. J. & D. H. Nicolson. 1976. Flora of Hassan district.
• Saldanha, C. J. 1985–. Flora of Karnataka.

• Madhuca
• Flora of the Indian subcontinent
• Non-timber forest products