MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND PROPAGATION STUDIES IN Saraca asoca: An endangered medicinal plant of Western Ghats

Saraca asoca (Roxb.) De Wilde is commonly known as Sita-Ashoka or Sorrow less tree. It is an important evergreen sacred tree where bark, flowers and seeds are medicinally important. S. asoca is a red listed species which belongs to the family Caesalpiniaceae. It is one of the important plants of Indian system of medicine known for its variety of pharmacological activities. Commercially, propagation can be done by seeds, but the seed viability is for a very short period and due to non-availability of plants many other plants are used for adulteration in folk medicines in place of Saraca asoca. Hence vegetative means of propagation (i.e., cuttings, air-layering and grafting) are the other best options for rapid multiplication of these plants. With this background the choice of the problem is very much relevant.