Tamil name: பராய் மரம்
English name: Tooth brush tree, sandalpaper tree
Scientific name: Streblus asper
Family: Moraceae
It is a small, rigid, evergreen tree with latex and grows upto 15 meter in height. Twigs are hairy and interwoven. Bark is rough grey to greenish in colour. Leaves are simple, alternate, rhomboid, elliptic, acute or acuminate more or less crenate-scabrid on both surfaces. Red loamy lateritic soils and clayey - loam soils are suitable for plantation. It grows wild in dry areas up to 600 m msl. The root is prescribed as a cure for elephantiasis. Roots are astringent, bitter, acrid, anti-inflammatory, healing, haemostatic, febrifuge and anteseptic. They are useful against vitiated conditions of kapha, ulcers, sinusitis, elephantiasis, boils, haemorrhage, bronchitis, diarrhoea, dysentery, syphilis and hemorrhoids. The bark is used for constipation and ulcers.