| Carissa carandas | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Gentianales |
| Family: | Apocynaceae |
| Genus: | Carissa |
| Species: | C. carandas |
| Binomial name | |
| Carissa carandas L. |
|
Carissa carandas is a species of flowering shrub in the dogbane family, Apocynaceae. It produces berry-sized fruitsphoto that are commonly used as a condiment or additive to Indian pickles and spices. It is a very hardy, drought-tolerant plant that thrives well in a wide range of soils. Common names include Karonda (Devanagari: करोंदा), Vakkay in Telugu, Kalakai in Tamil, Karau(n)da, Karanda or some times Karamda.
The supposed varieties congesta and paucinervia actually refer to the related Conkerberry (C. spinarum).
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It grows naturally in the Himalayas at elevations of 300 to 1800 meters, in the Siwalik Hills, the Western Ghats and in Nepal and Afghanistan. It flourishes well on lands with high temperatures. At present it is grown on a limited scale in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh regions of India. It is also found in some parts of Sri Lanka in the Sri Lanka lowland rain forests ecoregion.
The plant is propagated through seed in August and September. Inarching and budding can also be practised for vegetative propagation. Cuttings may also succeed. Planting is done with the first shower of monsoon at a distance of 1.5 m. Plants raised from seed come into bearing two years after planting. Flowering starts in March and the fruit ripens from July to September in North India.
The karonda fruit is a rich source of iron and contains a fair amount of Vitamin C. It is antiscorbutic and very useful for cure of anaemia. Mature fruit contains high amount of pectin and, therefore, besides being used for making pickle, it can be exploited for making jelly, jam, squash, syrup and chutney. Ripe fruits exude a white latex when severed from the branch.
The roots of the plant are heavily branched and make it suitable for stabilising eroding slopes.
Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Carissa_carandas Carissa carandas] at Wikimedia Commons Data related to Carissa carandas at Wikispecies
