Ailanthus triphysa
| Ailanthus triphysa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Ailanthus triphysa | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Sapindales |
| Family: | Simaroubaceae |
| Genus: | Ailanthus |
| Species: | A. altissima |
| Binomial name | |
| Ailanthus triphysa (Dennst.) Alston. | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Ailanthus triphysa (also Ailanthus malabarica) is a medium to tall evergreen rainforest tree in Asia and Australia. The wood may be used for matchwood and plywood. The tree is known as halmaddi in India, where its resin, also called halmaddi, may be used in incense. Inappropriate extraction methods were resulting in trees dying, so by the 1990s the Indian forestry department had banned extraction.
Common names in Australia include white bean and ferntop ash.
Distribution
It occurs in India, Sri Lanka, China, Malaysia, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam. In Australia, Ailanthus triphysa occurs in Western Australia,[1] Queensland and as far south as the Clarence River (New South Wales).
Description
A medium to tall evergreen tree to 30 m and diameter of 1.2 m.[2] The trunk is not buttressed, but rather straight and cylindrical. The bark is grey, somewhat rough and resembling sandpaper to the touch. Leaves are pinnate, curved and sickle shaped drawn out to a point. Particularly oblique at the base. Venation is prominent, the net veins more obvious under the leaf. Flowers are creamy green, flowering in November to January in Australia. The fruit is a samara, often forming in threes. Common names in Australia include white bean and ferntop ash.
Uses
The timber may be used for matchwood and plywood.[3] When the bark is cut, a sticky resin is exuded, which becomes brittle on drying; this resin may be used for medicinal purposes, and particularly, because of its aromatic nature, it may be burned as incense, either directly, or as an ingredient in incense sticks.[4] In India. the incense resin is named halmaddi, after the local name for the tree itself.[3] Due to crude extraction methods which resulted in trees dying, by the 1990s the Forest Department in India had banned resin extraction; this forced up the price of halmaddi, so its usage in incense making declined.[5][6]
The wood contain various alkaloids and quassinoids, including beta-carboline,[7] and has been used for the treatment of dyspepsia, bronchitis, ophthalmia and snake bite.[8]
References
- ↑ "Ailanthus triphysa (Dennst.) Alston". FloraBase. Department of Environment and Conservation, Government of Western Australia. P1 conservation status
- ↑ "AgroForestryTree Database".
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (1969). Proceedings and Papers of the Technical Meeting. Natural monuments. p. 120. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
- ↑ "Factsheet - Ailanthus triphysa". keys.trin.org.au. 2010. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
- ↑ Devaki Jain (1991). Women's role in dynamic forest-based small scale enterprises. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. p. 27. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
- ↑ Myforest. Forest Department, Karnataka. 1992. p. 144. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
- ↑ Aono Hiroyuki, Kazuo Koike, Jun Kaneko, Taichi Ohmoto (1994). "Alkaloids and quassinoids from Ailanthus malabarica". Phytochemistry 37 (2): 579–584. doi:10.1016/0031-9422(94)85104-2.
- ↑ M. F. Roberts (1991). "Ailanthus altissima (the Tree of Heaven): In Vitro Culture and the Formation of Alkaloids and Quassinoids". Biotechnology in Agriculture and Forestry 15: 39–57. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
Further reading
- Floyd, A.G., Rainforest Trees of Mainland South-eastern Australia, Inkata Press 1989, ISBN 0-909605-57-2
- Flora of China_Ailanthus triphysa