Pisonia alba
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| Pisonia alba |
Pisonia alba commonly called the "lettuce tree", is a small, evergreen foliage tree or a large shrub found in our gardens. It reaches a height of four to seven meters. It is called sule sappu in Kannada and lachaikottei in Tamil.
The tree is originally from the beach forests of Andaman Islands and gardeners in Chennai fell in love with it. The result - it began to go places and reached inland gardens. Being a coastal tree it does not thrive as well on land as it does on the east and west coast of our country.
The leaves are long and pointed and about 30 cm in length. They are of a pleasing pale green colour.
Planted in good sunlight, the leaves may acquire a light yellow colour. The plant belongs to Nyctaginaceae family of bougainvillea and four o'clock plant. It is an irony that Pisonia alba, unlike the two other family members, is grown not for its flowers but for its leaves.
The plant grows well in any soil, but being a littoral plant it shows preference for sandy soil. It is propagated through cuttings, which root easily in sand. Cuttings should be kept in a place where sunlight falls on them. Over watering and lack of light and warmth in the rainy season can rot the newly forming leaves on the cuttings.
Pisonia alba can be planted singly in large compounds to make it grow into trees or planted closely and trimmed regularly to make a pleasant looking hedge.
In Chennai we often come across the plant alternatively planted with the large leaved Acalypha wilkesiana.
The russet leaves of Acalypha contrasts well with the pale green leaves of Pisonia alba.
Pisonia alba can also be grown in pots.
A number of potted plants kept in a line can come in handy when making temporary barricades in a garden.
Pisonia has dense foliage and so trimming provides us with large quantities of leaves if we have a few pisonia trees or well-grown hedges. The leaves by their quality and quantity make good cattle feed.
The tree rarely flowers in India. The flowers are small, green and inconspicuous. Some gardeners call the tree by a quaint name in Telugu, as it grows well without producing flowers or fruits.
The young leaves come in handy as a leafy vegetable. They also have medicinal properties and people cook and eat the leaves when suffering from rheumatism or arthritis.
The leaves are also carminative. Leaves coated with eau de cologne are used to rub on elephantoid swellings.
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