Description

Mesua ferrea, the Nagkesar or ironwood tree, is a tall, handsome, slow-growing evergreen tree of the family Calophyllaceae, native to the humid tropical forests of the Indian subcontinent — particularly the Western Ghats of Karnataka and Kerala, the Northeastern states, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia. The tree produces large, glossy, dark green leaves with a distinctive pink-copper flush in young growth, and fragrant white four-petalled flowers from whose yellow stamens the commercial drug Nagkesar is obtained. The dried stamens are documented in the Charaka Samhita and Ashtanga Hridayam under the name Nagakeshara for preparations associated with haemorrhagic conditions, bleeding disorders, skin diseases, and Pitta-reducing formulations. Nagkesar is the state flower of Mizoram and Tripura and is listed in the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India.