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Grewia asiatica
Phalsa (Grewia asiatica) is a shrub or small tree grown mainly for its sour-sweet purple berries, which are eaten fresh or made into a cooling drink. It needs a hot, seasonally dry climate and full sun to fruit well.
Grewia asiatica, commonly known as phalsa or falsa, is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family Malvaceae. Grewia celtidifolia was initially considered a mere variety of phalsa, but is now recognized as a distinct species.
It is a shrub or small tree growing to 8 m tall. The leaves are broadly rounded, 5–18 cm long and broad, with a petiole 1–1.5 cm long. The flowers are produced in cymes of several together, the individual flowers about 2 cm diameter, yellow, with five large (12 mm) sepals and five smaller (4–5 mm) petals. The fruit is an edible drupe 5–12 mm diameter, purple to black when ripe.
It is extensively cultivated for its sweet and sour acidic fruit, which is sold in the market during the summer months under the name falsa. The flower blooms in April and the fruit is ripe by the end of May. It is available for a very short period in the market, and is at its maximum by the middle of June. A Sharbat or squash is prepared from the fruit pulp by mixing it with sugar and used as an astringent, stomachic and cooling agent.
The root is used by Santhal tribals for rheumatisms. The stem bark is said to be used in refining sugar, for making ropes and its infusion is used as a demulcent. The leaves are used as an application to pustular eruptions. The buds are also prescribed by some physicians.
White raisin · Brandy Bush · Donkey Berry · Mallow Family · Grewia mollis · Bhimal · Small Leaved Crossberry · Grewia villosa
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Grewia asiatica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
