''Ailanthus triphysa'' (also ''Ailanthus malabarica'') is a medium to tall
evergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...
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
Incense is aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also be ...
. Inappropriate extraction methods were resulting in trees dying, so by the 1990s the Indian forestry department had banned extraction.
Distribution
It occurs in India, including the
Andaman Islands
The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a maritime boundary between th ...
;
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
;
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
;
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
;
South-Central and Southeast
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
;
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
;
Laos
Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
;
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, including
Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...
,
Sarawak
Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...
and
Sabah
Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...
;
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
;
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
;
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
;
Jawa,
Kalimantan
Kalimantan () is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area. The non-Indonesian parts of Borneo are Brunei and East Malaysia. In Indonesia, "Kalimantan" refers to the whole island of Borneo.
In 2019, ...
,
Sulawesi
Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...
and
Maluku in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
; and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
In Australia, ''Ailanthus triphysa'' occurs as two isolated populations in
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
(at
Prince Regent River
The Prince Regent River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
The headwaters of the river rise in the Caroline Range near Mount Agnes then flow in a north westerly direction. The river enters and flows through the Prince R ...
and on the offshore
Coronation Island
Coronation Island is the largest of the South Orkney Islands, long and from wide. The island extends in a general east–west direction, is mainly ice-covered and comprises numerous bays, glaciers and peaks, the highest rising to .
History
T ...
, in the Kimberley), and from Cape York in
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
and as far south as the
Susan Island Nature Reserve at
Clarence River (New South Wales)
The Clarence River ( Bundjalung: ''Boorimbah'', Yaygir: ''Ngunitiji'') is a river situated in the Northern Rivers district of New South Wales, Australia.
The river rises on the eastern slopes of the Great Dividing Range, in the Border Rang ...
.
Description
A medium to tall
evergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...
tree to 30 m and diameter of 1.2 m.
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
Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and in ...
, curved and sickle shaped drawn out to a point. Particularly
oblique
Oblique may refer to:
* an alternative name for the character usually called a slash (punctuation) ( / )
* Oblique angle, in geometry
*Oblique triangle, in geometry
*Oblique lattice, in geometry
* Oblique leaf base, a characteristic shape of the b ...
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
Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with ...
, often forming in threes.
![Ailanthus triphysa(1)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Ailanthus_triphysa%281%29.jpg)
Stem: Bark greyish, lenticellate; blaze yellow with red speckles.
Leaves:
Leaf bearing twigs 1 cm or more in diameter. Stipules very small Leaflet blades falcate, about 5-12 x 0.9–2 cm, very unequal-sided particularly at the base. Lateral veins forming loops well inside the blade margin. Midrib raised in a depression on the upper surface of the leaflet blade. Numerous, closely spaced oil dots visible with a lens.
Flowers:
These are polygamous with greenish yellow in color . Inflorescence axillary, branched panicle, about 10–20 cm long. Sepals are about 0.5-0.8 mm long. Petals are about 3.5-4.5 x 2 mm in dimensions, Stamen are about 3–4 mm long in male flowers, and carpels are 2-4mm usually 3mm long. Ovules 1 per carpel
Flowering season in India are from the month of December to May.
Fruit:
Fruits green to greenish brown, papery in texture. Samaras about 5-6 x 1–2 cm. Main vascular bundle to the seed connected to an intramarginal vein on the samara.
Habitat
On the island of
Yamdena
Yamdena (spelt Jamdena during the Dutch colonial period) is the largest of the Tanimbar Islands in the Maluku Province of Indonesia. Saumlaki is the chief town, located on the south end of the island.
The island has a range of forested hills al ...
, eastern Indonesia, the tree occurs in Dense Dry Deciduous Forest, growing in the understorey, taller than 4m with a
dbh less than 30cm. The canopy of these forests is dominated by
Ebenaceae
The Ebenaceae are a family of flowering plants belonging to order Ericales. The family includes ebony and persimmon among about 768 species of trees and shrubs. It is distributed across the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world. It ...
(particularly
Diospyros
''Diospyros'' is a genus of over 700 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs. The majority are native to the tropics, with only a few species extending into temperate regions. Individual species valued for their hard, heavy, dark tim ...
) and
.
On Coronation Island, off the coast of the Kimberley, Western Australia, the tree grows in vine thickets (monsoon rainforest pockets). Because of the limited and isolated nature of the Western Australian populations, they have conservation significance.
Uses
![Ailanthus triphysa plant](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Ailanthus_triphysa_plant.jpg)
The wood is yellowish and brittle; as well as making excellent charcoal,
the timber may be used for matchwood and plywood.
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.
In India. the incense resin is named halmaddi, after the local name for the tree itself.
[ 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, and its use in incense-making declined.
In Cambodia, the resin is also used as incense, whereas the bark is used in local folk medicine against dysentery and intestinal œdema.]
The wood contain various alkaloid
Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar ...
s and quassinoid
Quassinoids are degraded triterpene lactones (similar to limonoids) of the Simaroubaceae plant family grouped into C-18, C-19, C-20, C-22 and C-25 types. The prototypical member of the group, quassin, was first described in the 19th century from ...
s, including beta-carboline
β-Carboline (9''H''- pyrido ,4-''b'' ndole) represents the basic chemical structure for more than one hundred alkaloids and synthetic compounds. The effects of these substances depend on their respective substituent. Natural β-carbolines prima ...
, and has been used for the treatment of dyspepsia, bronchitis, ophthalmia
Ophthalmia (also called ophthalmitis) is inflammation of the eye. It results in congestion of the eyeball, often eye-watering, redness and swelling, itching and burning, and a general feeling of irritation under the eyelids. Ophthalmia can have d ...
and snake bite.
Names
As well as its botanical names
A botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the ''International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN) and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar or Group epithets must conform to the ''Internat ...
, this tree has common
Common may refer to:
Places
* Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
* Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts
* Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts
* Clapham Common, originally com ...
, or vernacular, names. These include: ''halmaddi'', ''but'', in India; ''hoëm thôm'' ( Khmer, ="severe œdema"); ''thanh thât'' (Vietnam); ''white bean'', ''ferntop ash'' (Australia).
References
Further reading
*
(other publication details, included in citation)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2110253
triphysa
Flora of tropical Asia
Trees of Australia
Trees of China