''Gluta usitata'',
previously known as ''Melanorrhoea usitata''
is an Asian tree species in the family
Anacardiaceae
The Anacardiaceae, commonly known as the cashew family or sumac family, are a family of flowering plants, including about 83 genera with about 860 known species. Members of the Anacardiaceae bear fruits that are drupes and in some cases produce ...
. It may be known as Burmese lacquer,
[''Melanorrhoea usitata''](_blank)
at ZipcodeZoo.com theetsee,
in BoDD – Botanical Dermatology Database thitsi
or ringas.
It has been identified as an endangered species in Viet Nam, where it may be called ''sơn đào''.
Description
It is a medium to large deciduous tree from the dry deciduous forest with a straight clean cylindrical bole and a spreading crown of dark green leaves.
This species is used in Burma and northern Thailand as a source of lacquer used for producing
varnish,
waterproof
Waterproofing is the process of making an object or structure waterproof or water-resistant so that it remains relatively unaffected by water or resisting the ingress of water under specified conditions. Such items may be used in wet environme ...
or
preservative
A preservative is a substance or a chemical that is added to products such as food products, beverages, pharmaceutical drugs, paints, biological samples, cosmetics, wood, and many other products to prevent decomposition by microbial growth or by ...
paint,
glue,
ceramic
A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...
and
lacquerware
Lacquerware are objects decoratively covered with lacquer. Lacquerware includes small or large containers, tableware, a variety of small objects carried by people, and larger objects such as furniture and even coffins painted with lacquer. Befor ...
.
Timber (known as ''Borneo rosewood''
) is used for furniture and inlay work.
Both tree's sap and sawdust can cause dermatitis and skin irritation.
An incompletely identified ''4-heptadec(en)yl catechol'', which was named ''
thitsiol'', has been reported to occur in this species.
Sap also contains ''
urushiol
Urushiol is an oily mixture of organic compounds with allergenic properties found in plants of the family Anacardiaceae, especially '' Toxicodendron'' ''spp.'' (e.g., poison oak, Chinese lacquer tree, poison ivy, poison sumac), ''Comoclad ...
''.
References
External links
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Type specimen
In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes th ...
o
''Melanorrhoea usitata''Isotype
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15545369, from2=Q6811536
Anacardiaceae
Plants described in 1829
Flora of Vietnam
Flora of Myanmar
Flora of Thailand
Lacquerware