Leaves
The opposite, pinnate leaves are 20–40 centimetres (7.9–16 in) long, with 20 to 31 medium to dark green leaflets about 3–8 centimetres (1.2–3.1 in) long. The terminal leaflet is often missing. The petioles are short. The leaves are also used in Pakistan to give baths to children suffering from skin diseases.The leaves are used in this manner that first they are washed thoroughly. Then 5-10 leaves along with the branch are boiled till the water turns green The water is then used for varying purposes. Elders find it useful in controlling high blood sugar level and is said to clean up the blood. Neem is also used to give baths to the Muslim dead. Neem leaves are dried in Pakistan and placed in cupboards to prevent insects eating the clothes. Neem leaves are dried and burnt in the tropical regions of Pakistan to keep away mosquitoes. These leaves are also used in many Indian festivals (by making them into garlands).
Read more about this topic: Azadirachta Indica
Famous quotes containing the word leaves:
“Separation’s fire
can be borne
when there’s a knot of hope,
but Mother,
when my love leaves home
and stays in the same village,
it’s far worse than death.”
—Hla Stavhana (c. 50 A.D.)
“Alice grown lazy, mammoth but not fat,
Declines upon her lost and twilight age;
Above in the dozing leaves the grinning cat
Quivers forever with his abstract rage....”
—Allen Tate (1899–1979)
“A rat eats, then leaves its droppings.”
—Hawaiian saying no. 85, ‘lelo No’Eau, collected, translated, and annotated by Mary Kawena Pukui, Bishop Museum Press, Hawaii (1983)