Phaeanthus ebracteolatus (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Phaeanthus ebracteolatus (C. Presl) Merr.

Protologue: Philipp. Journ. Sci., Bot. 3: 225 (1908).

Family: Annonaceae

Phaeanthus ebracteolatus (C. Presl) Merr. - 1, flowering twig; 2, flower; 3, flower with one inner petal removed; 4, infructescence

Synonyms

• Phaeanthus cumingii Miq. (1858),
• Phaeanthus macropodus (Miq.) Diels (1912),
• Phaeanthus nigrescens Elmer (1913).

Vernacular names

• Papua New Guinea: bien (Kebar)
• Philippines: kalimatas (Tagalog), takulau (Iloko), lapnisan (Bisaya).

Distribution

The Philippines, Brunei, Sabah, East Kalimantan, Sulawesi, the Lesser Sunda Islands, the Moluccas, Kai Islands, Aru Islands, Papua and Papua New Guinea.

Uses

A soluble extract from the bark is well-known as a treatment for sore eyes. In traditional medicine the extracts are also used as an antispasmodic as well as to cure ulcers and small wounds.

Observations

• A shrub or tree up to 20 m tall, trunk up to 35 cm in diameter.
• Leaves obovate to elliptical, 7.4-25.3 cm × 2.6-10 cm, the midrib with 9-14 pairs of anastomosing veins; cymes sometimes reduced to one axis.
• Flowers solitary or 3(-4) together, sepals and outer petals 0.8-1.5 mm long, inner petals 1.2-2.9 cm long, stamens 40-80, carpels 30-50, style absent.
• Monocarps 15-30, 11-17 mm × 7-10 mm, glabrous, stipe 1.3-2.6 cm long, green to yellow to orange when immature becoming dark red to purple when ripe.

The extreme forms within P. ebracteolatus differ morphologically quite a lot; this might be an indication of some ongoing speciation. P. ebracteolatus is common in primary and secondary lowland forest, on steep hills, especially ridges, on river banks and in open locations, on various soils up to 800 m altitude.

Selected sources

• [20] Aguinaldo, A.M., Byrne, L.T., Garcia, C.P., Guevara, B.Q. & Recio, B.V., 1985. Isolation and identification of phaeanthine from the leaves of Phaeanthus ebracteolatus (Presl) Merr. Acta Manilana 34: 1—4.
• [128] Brown, W.H., 1951—1957. Useful plants of the Philippines. Reprint of the 1941—1943 edition. 3 volumes. Technical Bulletin 10. Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Bureau of Printing, Manila, the Philippines. Vol. 1 (1951) 590 pp
• [149] Castro, R.R., 1986. Anatomical studies on some Philippine medicinal plants. Philippine Journal of Science 115(4): 259—293.
• [241] de Padua, L.S., Lugod, G.C. & Pancho, J.V., 1977—1983. Handbook on Philippine medicinal plants. 4 volumes. Documentation and Information Section, Office of the Director of Research, University of the Philippines at Los Baños, the Philippines.
• [478] Jacalne, D.V. & Galinato, P.F., 1958. A study on the propagation of Cananga odorata Lamarck, Phaeanthus ebracteolatus Merrill, Intsia bijuga (Colebrooke) O. Kuntze, Cassia javanica Linneaus, and Toona clantas Merrill & Rolfe by cuttings. Philippine Journal of Forestry 14(1—4): 97—110.
• [522] Kessler, P.J.A., 1993. Annonaceae. In: Kubitzki, K., Rohwer, J.G. & Bittrich, V. (Editors): The families and genera of vascular plants. Vol. 2. Springer Verlag, Berlin, Germany. pp. 93—129.
• [786] Perry, L.M., 1980. Medicinal plants of East and Southeast Asia. Attributed properties and uses. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States & London, United Kingdom. 620 pp.
• [810] Quisumbing, E., 1978. Medicinal plants of the Philippines. Katha Publishing Co., Quezon City, the Philippines. 1262 pp.
• [865] Santos, A.C., 1974. Developments in the investigations on the chemistry of natural products. Acta Manilana 12(19): 48—67.
• [1031] van Zuilen, C.M., 1996. Patterns and affinities in the Duguetia alliance (Annonaceae): molecular and morphological studies. Thesis, Utrecht University, the Netherlands. 133 pp.

Main genus page

• Phaeanthus

Authors

• N.O. Aguilar & J.B. Mols