Ritha
Description:
Ritha is a common tree in Shivalik Hills and the outer Himalayas of Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir.The dried fruit of Ritha is most valuable part of the plant.Its fleshy portion contains saponin, which is a good substitute for washing soap and is as such used in preparation of quality shampoos, detergents, etc. The bark of Ritha is shinning gray and fairly smooth when the plant is young.It is dark gray when the plant approaches maturity. Ritha leaves are long stalked odd pinnate.In fact the skin of the fruit is highly valued by the rural folks as a natural produced shampoo for washing their hair.
Details :
Botanical Name: Sapindus Mukorossi
English Name: Soapnut
Indian Name:Ritha, Reetha, Aritha, Dodan, Doadni, Doda, Kanma and Thali,Soap Nut, Soapberry, Soap Berry, Washnut, and Wash Nut
Manipuri Name : Kekru
Marathi Name : phenil, rinthi, ritha
Tamil Name : punalai, punthi, puvanti
Malayalam Name : cavakkaay, pasakkottamaram, uruvanchi
Telugu Name : kunkuduchettu, phenilamu
Kannada Name : amtalakaayi, norekaayi, togate mara
Bengali Name : Ritha
Oriya Name : Ritha
Konkani Name : ritha
Urdu Name : Phenil, Reetha
Assamese Name : aritha
Gujarati Name : arithi, aritho, arithu
Sanskrit Name : hrishtah, phenaka, phenil, rishtah, rishtak, rita, sarishta, urdhvashodhanah
Family:Sapindaceae
Part Used : Soapnuts, Soapnut Shells, Soapnut Shells Powder
Medicinal Uses:
- They also use these for washing woolen clothes.The fruit has considerable importance for its ayurvedic medicinal value.
- Soapnut powder is used to cleanse hair, skin and laundry.
- The pulp of the fruit contains a high level of natural foaming agents. This extract can be used to wash skin and hair.
- Useful for treating a number of diseases like common cold, pimples, epilepsy, constipation, nausea.
- It is an important herb that is used in the treatment of contaminated soil. Moreover, it has also been used for washing and bleaching cardamoms, further helping in improving the latter’s color and flavor.