Ditta bark tree or Devil's tree is a common tree that is distributed throughout India, in the sub Himalayan region from the Yamuna eastward ascending to 3000 feet above sea level, West Bengal and South India. This tree is also found in Sri Lanka, Southern China, Malaysia, northern Australia and Solomon Islands.
Description of tree
Large evergreen tree reaching up to height of 17 to 20 m, have bitter milky latex. Bark is greyish brown, rough, lenticellate. 4-7 Leaves in a whorl, coriaceous, elliptic-oblong, pale beneath. Flowers small, greenish white, spice scented. Fruits follicles, 30 – 60 cm long. Seeds papillose with brownish hair at each end.
Botanical name: Alstonia scholaris
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Gentianale
Family: Apocynaceae
Genus: Alstonia
Species: A. scholaris
Synonym: Echites scholaris L. Echites pala Ham., Tabernaemontana alternifolia Burm.
| Vernacular Name Sanskrit: Saptaparna English: White Cheesewood, Birrba, Milkwood Pine, Milk Wood, Milky Pine, Black Board Tree, Devil's Tree, Dita Bark Marathi: Saptaparni Hindi: Chatium, Chhatin, Satwin, Saitan-Ki-Jad Gujarati: Satuparni Assamese: Chhaiten Telugu: Edakulaponna | Burmese: Lettok Filipino: Dita, Dalipoen Indonesian: Rite, Pulai, Pule Javanese: Pule Malay: Pulai, Pulai, Linlin Trade name: Pulai, Shaitan Wood, Chatiyan Wood, White Cheesewood Malayalam: Daivapala Bengali: Satiani, Chattin, Chatium Tamil: Elalaipalai, Palegaruda, Pala |
Useful Parts
Leaf, bark and milky juice.
As Per Ayurveda Properties and Action of Saptaparna
Rasa: Tikta, Kashaya
Guna: Sara, Snigdha
Virya: Ushna
Vipaka: Katu
Karma: Anulomana, Dipana, Jwar-har, Kushaghna, Rakta-shodhaka, Tridosh-nashak
Drug and its properties
- The bark of Alstonia scholaris tree is pale grey in colour. It is known as Ditta bark. Ditta bark is useful in treatment of various diseases such as
Malarial fever (Brings down fever without causing exhaustion) - Skin diseases
- Chronic diarrhoea and dysentery
Other uses
The wood of this tree is used to manufacture paper, matchsticks, pencils, furniture of inferior quality, packing cases etc. It was also used to prepare wooden slate of children and hence called Scholaris. The latex of this tree is used to prepare chewing gum.