Leea guineensis (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Leea guineensis G. Don

Protologue: Gen. hist. 1: 712 (1831).

Family: Leeaceae

• Leea manillensis Walp. (1843),
• Leea coccinea Planch. (1854),
• Leea sambucina auct. non Willd.

• West Indian holly (L. coccinea) (En)
• Philippines: abang-abang (Tagalog), mali-mali (Tagalog, Pampanga)
• Thailand: kradangngaa daeng (central), khueang khaeng maa (northern), seesa lueat (peninsular)
• Vietnam: gối hạc trắng, cỏ hạc.

From tropical Africa, Madagascar, India, Burma (Myanmar), throughout South-East Asia (except New Guinea) to Taiwan and Palau (Micronesia).

In the Philippines, a decoction of the roots, twigs and leaves is considered a vulnerary. In Africa, the leaves are externally applied as poultices on muscular pains, arthritis and rheumatism; roasted they are applied to the head for vertigo. The pounded root is externally applied to rheumatism, localised oedema, as well as to abscesses and furuncles, to mature them, and to wounds as a haemostatic and to promote healing.

• A shrub, sometimes with a creeping rootstock, or semi-woody branches or tree, 1-5(-10) m tall, young twigs glabrous.
• Leaves (1-)2 or 3(-4)-pinnate, leaflets numerous, rachis up to 50 cm long, petiole (5-)10-20(-25) cm long, stipules obovate, 2-4(-6) cm × (1-)1.5-3 cm, early caducous, glabrous, leaflets ovate to ovate-lanceolate or elliptical to elliptical-lanceolate, (3-)8-20(-30) cm × (1.5-)3-8(-14) cm, base cuneate to rounded, apex (long-)acuminate, margin repand to denticulate, pearl-glands small, inconspicuous, caducous.
• Cyme (3-)10-25(-40) cm long, lax or compact, rusty pubescent, bracts ovate to deltoid, up to 3 mm long.
• Flowers red to reddish-orange, calyx about 1-3 mm × 2-4 mm, glabrous to pubescent, staminodial tube red to citrous-white, about 2-3 mm long, upper free part 1.5-2.5 mm long, lobes shallowly retuse, notched or cleft, sinuses shallow, ovary (4-)6(-8)-celled.
• Berry 5-15 mm in diameter, red, 6-seeded.
• Seed 6 mm × 5 mm.

L. guineensis is a complex species of overlapping entities, sometimes having different ecological preferences. It is particularly variable in Madagascar and the Philippines. Within South-East Asia two ecological forms can be discerned, one of shaded forest occurring in Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Java, the other in secondary vegetation occurring in mainland Asia and the Philippines. In the Philippines it appears to replace L. indica in secondary vegetation. L. guineensis is found in secondary and primary vegetation in Taiwan, the Philippines and Micronesia; throughout the remainder of Malesia it is rather rare in primary forest and shaded localities, but a common component of secondary vegetation in mainland Asia and Africa, from sea-level up to 1500 m altitude.

• [134] Burkill, H.M., 1985—2000. The useful plants of West tropical Africa. 2nd Edition. 5 volumes. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom. Vol. 1 (1985), Families A—D, 960 pp.; Vol. 2 (1994), Families E—I, 636 pp.; Vol. 3 (1995), Families J—L, 857 pp.; Vol. 4 (1997), Families M—R, 969 pp; Vol. 5 (2000), Families S—Z, 686 pp.
• [810] Quisumbing, E., 1978. Medicinal plants of the Philippines. Katha Publishing Co., Quezon City, the Philippines. 1262 pp.
• [949] Soepadmo, E., Wong, K.M. & Saw, L.G. (Editors), 1995—. Tree flora of Sabah and Sarawak. Sabah Forestry Department, Forest Research Institute Malaysia and Sarawak Forestry Department, Kepong, Malaysia.

• Leea

• Tahan Uji