Alstonia iwahigensis (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Alstonia iwahigensis Elmer

Protologue: Leafl. Philipp. Bot. 4: 1447 (1912).

• Indonesia: pulai gunung, pelantan (East Kalimantan)
• Malaysia: tombalik (Bundu Tuhan, Sarawak), tambalait (Murut, Sabah).

The Philippines (Palawan, Sulu Archipelago), Brunei, Malaysia (northern Sarawak, Sabah), Indonesia (central and eastern Kalimantan).

In Sabah, the diluted latex is drunk to cure fevers. A decoction of the roots is taken to treat diabetes and lumbago. The latex mixed with honey is taken as a tonic.

• A medium-sized to large tree up to 45(-70) m tall, bole tall, straight, fluted, up to 80 cm in diameter, buttresses straight, up to 6 m tall and spreading out at the base for about 2 m, outer bark greyish, yellowish or dark brown, smooth to slightly rough inner bark yellow or pale yellow, with copious latex.
• Leaves in whorls of 4-7, elliptical to obovate, 3.5-10 cm × 1.5-4 cm, apex obtuse or rounded, with 25-40 pairs of secondary veins, petiole (5-)10-20(-28) mm long.
• Inflorescence usually forming 2 bunches of dense and many-flowered clusters.
• Pedicel 1-2 mm long, calyx variably pubescent, corolla glabrous outside except for the lobe margins.
• Follicles glabrous.

A. iwahigensis occurs on hillsides, both on sandy and loamy soils in primary and secondary forest at 20-500 m altitude. A. iwahigensis has been placed in the synonymy of A. angustiloba by many authors.

• [23] Ahmad, F.B. & Holdsworth, D.K., 1994. Medicinal plants of Sabah, Malaysia. Part II. The Muruts. International Journal of Pharmacognosy 32(4): 378—383.

• Alstonia (Medicinal plants)

• Stephen P. Teo