''Celtis timorensis'', commonly known as stinkwood or stinking wood, is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the family Cannabaceae that grows in tropical Asia. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

comes from the name of the island of

Timor Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is East Timor–Indonesia border, divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western p ...

, the locality of the

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

collection.Flora of Australia Online. The most notable characteristic of the tree is the strong excrement odour that it emits from the bark and sap, which pervades the surrounding forest. This is due to the presence of the malodorous organic compound

skatole Skatole or 3-methylindole is an organic compound belonging to the indole family. It occurs naturally in the feces of mammals and birds and is the primary contributor to fecal odor. In low concentrations, it has a flowery smell and is found in seve ...

. In Thailand, it therefore known as ''kæ̂ng k̄hī̂ phrar̀wng'' or '' mị̂ chĕd tūd phrar̀wng'' ( th, แก้งขี้พระร่วง, ไม้เช็ดตูดพระร่วง) which means 'wipe the bottom timber'. Thai legend has it that Phra Ruang (the legendary King of the

Sukhothai dynasty The Sukhothai Kingdom ( th, สุโขทัย, , IAST: , ) was a post-classical Thai kingdom (mandala) in Mainland Southeast Asia surrounding the ancient capital city of Sukhothai in present-day north-central Thailand. The kingdom was fou ...

) wiped his buttocks with it. In Sri Lanka the heartwood of the tree (known as ''gurenda'', ගුරෙන්ද) is used as a traditional

ayurvedic Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population rep ...

medicine against syphilis, chickenpox, and measles.Celtis timorensis, ''Ayurvedic Medicinal Plants of Sri Lanka''. Accessed 15.02.2018 on http://www.instituteofayurveda.org/plants/plants_detail.php?i=1313&s=Family_name Celtis timorensis Com nguoi rung

Description

''Celtis timorensis'' is a large forest tree growing to 25 m in height. The wood and sap have a strong foetid smell that resembles excrement because of the presence of

. The oblate to oblong, strongly 3-veined

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are 50–130 mm in length. Although the tree resembles ''

Cinnamomum iners ''Cinnamomum iners'' is a tree species in the family Lauraceae described by Reinwardt and Blume. No subspecies are listed in the Catalogue of Life. It occurs naturally in Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, ...

'' in its 3-veined leaves, it can easily be distinguished by its serrated leaf margins. The

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

, protected by the 7–11 mm long

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

’s hard and durable endocarp, is dispersed by water. Flowers - Inflorescence - male greenish, short racemose cymes; female more slender axillary or terminal cymes.
Fruits - beaked, pear-shaped drupe.

Distribution and habitat

The tree is found throughout the tropical regions of Asia, from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

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 ...

, through Indo-China, southern

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 ...

and

Malesia Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the Equator and the boundaries of the Indomalayan and Australasian realms, and also a phytogeographical floristic region in the Paleotropical Kingdom. It has been given different definitions. The ...

to the

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 ...

. It occurs on Christmas Island, an

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 ...

n territory in the northeastern

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

, where it forms about 1% of the

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

canopy. It grows in drier, seasonal rain forest.

References

Notes

Sources

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q3929720 timorensis Flora of China Flora of the Indian subcontinent Flora of Indo-China Flora of Malesia Plants described in 1841