Origin: Southern India and Sri Lanka.
It is a small tree has hard, useful wood.
Leaves are pinnate, with 15-19 leaflets.
Since they contain essential oils when braised, a distinctive smell is emitted, like that of a faint odour of anise.
Note the glandular dots on the petals.
Uses: The leaves are widely used as a flavouring in Indian curries especially fish curries, adding a distinctive flavor to the dish.
The roots, barks as well as the leaves can also be used both externally and internally as a medicine.
Curry leaves are extensively used in Southern India and Sri Lanka, but are also of some importance in Northern India.
Together with South Indian immigrants, curry leaves reached Malaysia, South Africa and Reunion Island.
Outside the Indian sphere of influence, they are rarely found.
Curry powder is a British invention to imitate the flavour of Indian cooking with minimal effort.
Some curry powders, or so the books tell, indeed contain curry leaves, but probably only for historic or linguistic reasons, since dried curry leaves lose their fragrance within days.
Female - Regulates the menstrual cycle.