Ailanthus integrifolia (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Ailanthus integrifolia Lamk

Protologue: Dict. 3(2): 417 (1792).

Synonyms

• Ailanthus moluccana DC. (1825),
• Ailanthus blancoi Merr. (1918),
• Ailanthus peekelii Melch. (1930).

Vernacular names

• White siris (En)
• Indonesia: ai lanit (Moluccas), kayu ruris (Minahassa), pohon langit (Ambon)
• Philippines: malasapsap (general), balokas, makaisa (Tagalog).
• Vietnam: thanh thất lá nguyên.

Distribution

Western India (Assam), southern Vietnam, throughout Malesia (except for the Lesser Sunda Islands) towards the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands.

Uses

A. integrifolia is not used in traditional medicine, despite the active compounds revealed by phytochemical research. The wood is used as white siris; it is also used for local house building and furniture manufacture.

Observations

• A large tree up to 60 m tall, bole branchless for up to 35 m, up to 85(-175) cm in diameter, bark surface smooth or irregularly fissured, pale brown or greyish.
• Leaves paripinnate with 2-9 entire leaflets 10-40 cm long, lower surface sometimes pubescent and with a few large black glands.
• Petals puberulous, carpels 5, puberulous.
• Fruit a samara 11-22 cm long.

A. integrifolia is divided into two subspecies: subsp. integrifolia and subsp. calycina (Pierre) Nooteboom. The former has up to 15 mm long pedicels and 6-10 mm long petals and occurs in primary rain forest up to 900 m altitude throughout Malesia except for Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands and on the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands. The latter has pedicels up to 5 mm long and petals c. 4 mm long and occurs in mixed seasonal primary forest in western India, southern Vietnam and Java.

The density of the wood is 330-390 kg/m³ at 12% moisture content. See also the table on wood properties. A. integrifolia is potentially of medicinal interest.

Selected sources

• All Nippon Checkers Corporation, 1989. Illustrated commercial foreign woods in Japan. Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo. 262 pp.
• [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.
• Beniwal, B.S. & Singh, N.B., 1990. Genetic improvement of forest trees in Arunachal Pradesh, India. Indian Forester 116(1): 3-10.
• Bolza, E. & Kloot, N.H., 1966. The mechanical properties of 81 New Guinea timbers. Technological Paper No 41. Division of Forest Products, CSIRO, Melbourne. 39 pp.
• [216] Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, 1985. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials & industrial products. Revised Edition. Vol. 1. Publications and Information Directorate, New Delhi, India. 513 pp.
• Eddowes, P.J., 1977. Commercial timbers of Papua New Guinea, their properties and uses. Forest Products Research Centre, Department of Primary Industry, Post Moresby. xiv + 195 pp.
• Flora Malesiana (various editors), 1950-. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Boston, London.
• [311] Flora of Thailand (various editors), 1970—. The Forest Herbarium, Royal Forest Department, Bangkok, Thailand.
• Hellinga, G., 1950. Houtsoorten voor aanplant op bedrijfsgrootte [Forest tree species for planting on a large scale]. Tectona 40: 179-229.
• Hellinga, G., 1950. Resultaten van de proeftuinen voor boomgewassen sedert 1937. Loofhoutsoorten II [Results from trial plots for trees since 1937. Deciduous trees II]. Rapport No 27. Bosbouwproefstation, Buitenzorg. 29 pp.
• [406] Hewson, H.J., 1985. Simaroubaceae. In: George, A.S. (Editor): Flora of Australia. Vol. 25. Melianthaceae to Simaroubaceae. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, Australia. pp. 188—197.
• Merrill, E.D., 1923-1926. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants. 4 volumes. Bureau of Printing, Manila.
• [746] Nooteboom, H.P., 1962. Simaroubaceae. In: van Steenis C.G.G.J. (Editor): Flora Malesiana. Series 1, Vol. 6. Wolters-Noordhoff, Groningen, the Netherlands. pp. 193—226.
• Reyes, L.J., 1938. Philippine woods. Technical Bulletin No 7. Commonwealth of the Philppines, Department of Agriculture and Commerce. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 536 pp. + 88 plates.
• [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.
• 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.
• Working group on utilization of tropical woods, 1978. Properties of some Papua New Guinea woods relating with manufacturing processes VI-IX. Bulletin of the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute Japan No 299: 23-187.

Main genus page

• Ailanthus (Medicinal plants)
• Ailanthus (Timbers)

Authors

• J.L.C.H. van Valkenburg (Medicinals)