Elaeocarpus grandiflorus (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Elaeocarpus grandiflorus J.E. Smith

Protologue: Rees, Cycl. XII: no. 5 (1809).

Synonyms

• Elaeocarpus lanceolatus Blume (1825).

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: anyang-anyang (Javanese, Sundanese), ki ambit (Sundanese), maitan (Javanese)
• Malaysia: ando, andor (Kedah, Peninsular)
• Philippines: mala (Tagalog). Burma (Myanmar): ye-saga
• Thailand: khrai yoi (northern), mun nam (north-eastern), phi nai (peninsular)
• Vietnam: côm hoa lớn, côm nước

Distribution

From Burma (Myanmar) and Indo-China to Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, Bali, Borneo and the Philippines.

Uses

In East Java, the crushed bark is used for poulticing persistent ulcers. In West Java, the bark is an ingredient of a traditional drug for women's diseases. In Central Java, a decoction of the leaves is drunk as a general tonic and used for bilious afflictions. The leaves are an ingredient of a traditional drug against syphilis. The seeds are a common ingredient in many traditional "jamus". They are credited with mild diuretic properties and as such are included in prescriptions to relieve bladder stones and painful urination in general.

Observations

• An evergreen tree, up to 25 m tall.
• Leaves lanceolate, crowded at apices of glabrous twigs, 4.5-20 cm × 1.2-5 cm, base decurrent, apex obtuse to slightly acuminate, petiole 0.2-4 cm long.
• Raceme in between the leaves, pendulous, 2-10 cm long, lax, 4-6-flowered.
• Pedicel 2.5 cm long; sepals lanceolate, 1.2-2.5 cm × 0.2 cm long, bright red, petals obovate, 2-2.5 cm × 1 cm, pure white, stamens 25-60, filaments 2-4 mm long, anthers 2.5-6 mm long, with a 2.5-4 mm long awn, ovary densely pubescent, 2-celled.
• Drupe ellipsoid, 2.5-4 cm × 1.5-2 cm, acuminate, pale green.
• Stone covered with recurved, long, slender spines.

E. grandiflorus is found in evergreen forest, along streams on riverbanks, at 50-800 m altitude. Widely planted as an ornamental (in Java up to 1000 m altitude).

Selected sources

• [74] Backer, C.A. & Bakhuizen van den Brink Jr, R.C., 1964—1968. Flora of Java. 3 volumes. Noordhoff, Groningen, the Netherlands. Vol. 1 (1964) 647 pp., Vol. 2 (1965) 641 pp., Vol. 3 (1968) 761 pp.
• [135] Burkill, I.H., 1966. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. Revised reprint. 2 volumes. Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol. 1 (A—H) pp. 1—1240, Vol. 2 (I—Z) pp. 1241—2444.
• [311] Flora of Thailand (various editors), 1970—. The Forest Herbarium, Royal Forest Department, Bangkok, Thailand.
• [372] Grosvenor, P.W., Gothard, P.K., McWilliam, N.C., Supriono, A. & Gray, D.O., 1995. Medicinal plants from Riau Province, Sumatra, Indonesia. Part 1: Uses. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 45: 75—95.
• [373] Grosvenor, P.W., Supriono, A. & Gray, D.O., 1995. Medicinal plants from Riau Province, Sumatra, Indonesia. Part 2: antibacterial and antifungal activity. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 45: 97—111.
• [407] Heyne, K., 1950. De nuttige planten van Indonesië [The useful plants of Indonesia]. 3rd Edition. 2 volumes. W. van Hoeve, 's-Gravenhage, the Netherlands/Bandung, Indonesia. 1660 + CCXLI pp.
• [810] Quisumbing, E., 1978. Medicinal plants of the Philippines. Katha Publishing Co., Quezon City, the Philippines. 1262 pp.
• [1066] Whitmore, T.C. & Ng, F.S.P. (Editors), 1972—1989. Tree flora of Malaya. A manual for foresters. 2nd Edition. 4 volumes. Malayan Forest Records No 26. Longman Malaysia Sdn. Berhad, Kuala Lumpur & Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.

Main genus page

• Elaeocarpus (Medicinal plants)
• Elaeocarpus (Timbers)

Authors

• S. Aggarwal
• W.G. Keating & M.S.M. Sosef