Distribution and habitat:  Found throughout India

Botany: A medium sized semi-evergreen glabrous tree with a short bole and spreading crown up to 18 m or more in height. 

• Bark : Greyish green or brown, very often mottled with dark brown dots, specks, lines or streaks.
• Leaves :  Imparipinnately 3 compound, leaflets 5-7, ovate, acuminate or elliptic.
•  Flowers :  Lilac or pinkish white, fragrant, in axillary racemes.
•  Fruits : Thick, woody, smooth, yellowish grey when ripe varying in size and shape, elliptic to obliquely oblong, 4-7.5 cm long and 1.7-3.2 cm broad with a short curved beak.
• Seeds:  Usually 1 or 2 per pod, 1.7-2 cm long and 1.2-1.8 cm broad, elliptic or reniform, wrinkled with reddish brown, leathery testa.

Chemical constituents: 

• Stem-  Karanjin, pingapin, pongaflavone
• Seed cake- Glabrin, four furanoflavones, kanjone, pongaglabrone and long chain fatty acid

Uses: Root and bark are bitter, acrid, hot, anthelmintic and alexipharmic. The seeds are anthelmintic, hematinic, bitter, acrid and carminative.

• It is used for cleaning teeth, strengthening gums and treating gonorrhoea and cleaning fistulous sores.
• It is useful for treating internal bleeding, piles, beriberi, skin diseases, ulcers, flatulence, dyspepsia, cough, diabetes, inflammations, ear-ache, pectoral diseases, hydrocele, bronchitis, leucoderma, cutaneous affection, herpes, scabies, ulcers and rheumatism.

Formulations: Nagaradi tailam, Varanadi Kasayam

Propagation: Seeds or root suckers.