CURRY LEAF TREE / CURRY TREE / KARUVAPILAI (Indian) (Murraya Koenigil)
This is a small evergreen shrub or tree with hard copper colored wood grain. It has leaves with pinnate, with 15-19 leaflets
and contain essential oils. The inflorescence forms at the end of small branches. The flowers are small, white, with 5 petals, ten stamens and one style and stigma. The fruit is round, berry like, reaching 1 cm in diameter and growing in pretty clusters that first appear greenish-red, turning shiny and initially red, then black when ripe. Curry tree is in the same family as rue & citrus fruits.
The tree or shrub can originally be found growing in evergreen and deciduous forests of Sri Lanka and India, where it reaches 1700 m in the Himalayas. Now it is widely cultivated in South East Asia. It can also be found in the secondary forest of Singapore.
When bruised, the leaves emit a distinctive smell like that of anise. The leaves are widely used as a flavoring in Indian curries, especially fish curries, adding a distinctive flavor to the dish. The young leaves are sometimes grounded into a paste and consumed as a Ulam by the Malays. Apart from using the leaves as a culinary herb, the leaves, bark and root of the Curry Tree can also be employed as a tonic or digestive. The root back is considered a stimulant, and external application of leaves is used to aid skin conditions. Leaves eaten raw are a cure for dysentery, and the infusion of the washed leaves stops vomiting. The strongly smelling essential oil found in its leaves and seeds has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal activity. The twigs are used for cleaning teeth and are said to strengthen the gums, and a preparation mixing hair-oil and curry leaves is said to help maintain healthy hair. The berries are edible and nutritive, though their seeds are poisonous.
Do you know ... the Latin name was a homage paid by Linnaeus to the Baltic German botanist Johann Konig (1728 - 1785) who traveled to India, Sri Lanka, Thailand & South East Asia.
The tree or shrub can originally be found growing in evergreen and deciduous forests of Sri Lanka and India, where it reaches 1700 m in the Himalayas. Now it is widely cultivated in South East Asia. It can also be found in the secondary forest of Singapore.
When bruised, the leaves emit a distinctive smell like that of anise. The leaves are widely used as a flavoring in Indian curries, especially fish curries, adding a distinctive flavor to the dish. The young leaves are sometimes grounded into a paste and consumed as a Ulam by the Malays. Apart from using the leaves as a culinary herb, the leaves, bark and root of the Curry Tree can also be employed as a tonic or digestive. The root back is considered a stimulant, and external application of leaves is used to aid skin conditions. Leaves eaten raw are a cure for dysentery, and the infusion of the washed leaves stops vomiting. The strongly smelling essential oil found in its leaves and seeds has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal activity. The twigs are used for cleaning teeth and are said to strengthen the gums, and a preparation mixing hair-oil and curry leaves is said to help maintain healthy hair. The berries are edible and nutritive, though their seeds are poisonous.
Do you know ... the Latin name was a homage paid by Linnaeus to the Baltic German botanist Johann Konig (1728 - 1785) who traveled to India, Sri Lanka, Thailand & South East Asia.