Description

Pistacia integerrima, the Himalayan pistachio, is a large deciduous tree of the family Anacardiaceae, native to the dry temperate forests and rocky hillsides of the western Himalayas — from Afghanistan and Pakistan through Jammu and Kashmir to Himachal Pradesh — at elevations between 1,000 and 2,500 metres. The leaves of this tree are frequently colonised by the aphid Paracletus integerrimus, which induces the formation of distinctive elongated, horn-shaped galls known commercially as Kakrasinghi or Karkarasringi. These dried galls, rich in tannins and astringent principles, are documented in the Charaka Samhita and Ashtanga Hridayam as primary ingredients in Balabhadra and other pediatric preparations, and in Sitopaladi Churna for respiratory formulations. They remain important commercially traded Ayurvedic raw materials.