Phalsa is an Excellent Forage Plant for Bees and Other Visiting Insects

Abstract

Botanical Description Phalsa (Grewia subinaequalis DC syn. G. asiatica L.) is an underutilized fruit crop, hardy in nature, and can withstand drought and temperatures up to 44 °C which is suitable for cultivation in arid and semi-arid areas throughout the world. It belongs to the family Malvaceae and is thought to be a native of India. Linnaeus named a genus of trees Grewia in honor of Boninia Grew who is known as the father of plant anatomy. More than 400 species of genus Grewia are distributed throughout the tropical to subtropical areas of Africa, Asia, and Australia (Whitehouse et al., 2001). The Phalsa is a deciduous bush but can grow into a tree as high as 10 m if left unpruned. It is a multipurpose bushy shrub mostly incorporated as fillers and intercrops with medicinal and aromatic plants and in young orchards for obtaining more remuneration to farm families, cover crops for maintaining soil fertility, ecological health of the fragile agroecosystems and thereby reducing soil erosion and multi-strata combinations with fruiting trees in agroforestry systems.