The charoli tree produces fruit that is edible to humans.[3] The seeds are used as a cooking spice, especially in India.[4] Charoli seeds are also used in theAyurveda,Unani, andSiddha systems of medicine.[2]
The tree grows to about 20 m (66 ft). Young branches are covered with dense, matted, woolly hairs. The leaves are 10 cm–20 cm × 6 cm–9 cm (3.9 in–7.9 in × 2.4 in–3.5 in), broadly oblong withemarginate (slightly indented at the tip) apices and rounded bases. The flowers are white and 0.3–0.4 cm (0.12–0.16 in) in diameter. The fruit aredrupes, 0.4–1 cm (0.16–0.39 in) in diameter andsubglobose (not quite spherical) in shape. When ripe, they are stone hard and reddish-purple in color.[5] Flowering occurs March–April, and the fruit is generally harvested in the months of April to June.[6]
Though sometimes referred to as the "chironji nut" or "charoli nut",[2][4][10] the fruit is actually a type ofdrupe rather than a true botanicalnut.[5] After the hard shell is cracked, the stubby seed within is similar in texture to a pine nut.[10] The charoli seed is around 0.6 cm (0.24 in) in length, with a flavor resembling an almond or a pistachio.[11] The seeds are used as a cooking spice, especially in Indian cuisine. Though they can be eaten raw, they are often toasted or roasted before use, as this intensifies the flavor of any nut or seed. They are commonly used inIndian sweets, or ground into powders for thickening and flavoringsavory sauces, batters andkormas.[10]
Charoli seeds are used in theAyurveda,Unani, andSiddha systems of medicine. A decoction can be prepared from the bark of the stem or the leaves, to be used as a treatment for indigestion, mumps, impotence,spermatorrhea, heavy menstrual bleeding, diarrhea, and snakebite. This can also be used as anexpectorant, aphrodisiac, or a laxative. The leaves can be crushed and applied to burns and wounds.[2]
The species is not commercially cultivated in India. The fruit is collected by local people from the forests and sold directly to the local markets. With a potential annual production of 5000 metric tonnes,Chhattisgarh is the highest-producing state in India for charoli fruit.[6]Leafhoppers,mealybugs, and bark-eating caterpillars (Indarbela spp.) are importantpests ofB. cochinchinensis, whilegummosis andpowdery mildew represent important pathogens.[6]
Circa 588 BCE,[12] the 35-year-old[13]Siddhartha Gautama stayed for seven weeks (7x7 days = 49 days = 1sattasattāha) at Uruvela (modernBodh Gaya), which is located in the present-dayIndianstate ofBihar. According to theGreat Chronicle of Buddhas, he spent one week at each of seven successive locations there.[14] During these seven weeks, he did not eat or drink, wash or excrete, or lie down.[15][16][17] The specific locations were:
Week 1: the Week on theAparājita Throne (Pallanka Sattāha). Aftermeditating under theBodhi Tree for seven days and nights, he attainedenlightenment, becoming the spiritual teacher known asthe Buddha and the founder ofBuddhism.[18]
Week 2: the Week of the Gaze (Animisa Sattāha)[19]
Week 3: the Week on the Walk (Cankama Sattāha)[20]
Week 4: the Week at the Golden House (Ratanāghara Sattāha)[21]
Week 7: the Week at theRājāyatana Tree (Rājāyatana Sattāha)[15]
The seventh week was passed while sitting under arājāyatana (B. cochinchinensis) tree, where the Buddha enjoyed the bliss of his newly attainedbuddhahood.[16][24][25] Upon the completion of thissattasattāha, several important "firsts" in Buddhism took place at therājāyatana tree at Bodh Gaya, including:
According to Burmese folklore, Tapussa and Bhallika (the two passing merchants who became the Buddha's first lay disciples) later returned to their home in Okkalapa (Lower Burma), where they built acetiya onSinguttara Hill (theShwedagon Pagoda), where they enshrined the hair relics given to them by the Buddha.[27][30]
^Theragāthā Commentary 1.1-7: "Commentary on the stanza of Bhalliya Thera". Translation in Woodward, F.L., 1940, 1952, 1959, 'Theragāthā-aṭṭhakathā: the commentary of Dhammapālācariya', 3 volumes, Pali Text Society London
Howes, Frank Norman (1948)."Miscellaneous and Little-known Nuts".Nuts: Their Production and Everyday Uses. London: Faber and Faber.Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved27 January 2023.
Quattrocchi, Umberto (2012)."Buchanania Sprengel Anacardiaceae".CRC World Dictionary of Medicinal and Poisonous Plants: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms, and Etymology. New York: Taylor & Francis Group.ISBN978-1482250640.Archived from the original on 12 March 2023. Retrieved27 January 2023.
Singh, N.P.; Karthikeyan, S., eds. (2000). "Buchanania Spreng.".Flora of Maharashtra State(PDF). Flora of India. Vol. 1 (1st ed.). Kolkata: Botanical Survey of India.Archived(PDF) from the original on 26 January 2023. Retrieved26 January 2023.
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