KAHOO

(Olea ferruginea)

A kahoo tree in a garden

Synonym: Olea cuspidata

Englsih name: Indian olive.

Other Indian names:  Kan, Kao, bairbanj.

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Kahoo is a medium sized tree, upto 15 m in height and 3.6 m in girth found in the Western Himalayas upto an altitude of 2400 m.  It mostly grows wild but sometimes the trees are also planted.

Fruits of kahoo            

It bears small fruits, 5-8 mm in length and black when ripe.  The fruits are edible.   The pulp is, however, scanty and very pleasant to taste.  Both pulp, as well as seeds, yield oil.  The entire fruit is used for the extraction of oil. 

            The oil is greenish yellow or dark green in colour, with sweetish taste resembling that of sesame oil. 

            Kahoo tree is lopped for fodder, mainly for goats.  Leaves and bark are bitter and astringent and used as antiperiodic in fever and debility. 

            The wood of kahoo is resistant to fungal attack and therefore is much valued locally. It is used for many purposes in the villages.