Alstonia scholaris (PROSEA)

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Plant Resources of South-East Asia
Introduction
List of species


Alstonia scholaris (L.) R.Br.

Protologue: Mem. Wern. Nat. Hist. Soc. 1: 76 (1811).

Synonyms

  • Echites scholaris L. (1767),
  • Tabernaemontana alternifolia Burm. (1768),
  • Echites pala Ham. (1822).

Vernacular names

  • White cheesewood, milkwood pine, blackboard tree (En)
  • Shaitan (Fr)
  • Brunei: pulai lilin
  • Indonesia: pulai (general), pule (Java), rite (Ambon)
  • Malaysia: pulai (Peninsular), kacau gitik (Kiput, Sarawak)
  • Papua New Guinea: white cheesewood, milky pine, katung (Buang, Morobe Province), kambuu (Kanganaman, Sepik Province), herina (Hisui, Central Province)
  • Philippines: dita (general), dalipaoen (Iloko), tanitan (Bisaya)
  • Burma (Myanmar): taung meok, lettok
  • Laos: tinpet
  • Thailand: sattaban, tin pet (central), hassaban (southwestern)
  • Vietnam: cây mò cua, cây sữa.

Distribution

A. scholaris is the most widely distributed Alstonia species, found from Sri Lanka and India through mainland South-East Asia and southern China, throughout Malesia, to northern Australia, the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands. It has been planted elsewhere.

Uses

A. scholaris is the most important source of pulai timber. The wood yields a good-quality pulp. In Java the wood was formerly used for school blackboards (hence "scholaris").

The thin roots and the bark have a bitter taste; the bark contains many alkaloids. In the Philippines, a decoction of the bark is used as a febrifuge and tonic, as an emmenagogue, anticholeric and vulnerary. The latex is applied to ulcers and for rheumatic pains. In Thailand, the bark is used as an antidysenteric, astringent, and a remedy for colds and bronchitis. In Indo-China, the bark is used as a strengthening tonic, a febrifuge, in the treatment of abdominal pains, irregular menstruation, dysentery, diarrhoea and arthritis. A decoction is applied as a wash for skin diseases, and as a gargle. It is believed to be a galactagogue, but this may well be an example of doctrine of signs. In Papua New Guinea, the leaves or bark are widely used as a febrifuge, to relieve stomach complaints, diarrhoea and dysentery. The latex is drunk in small amounts as a poison antidote. Mention is made of its use for coughs, asthma, pneumonia and lung cancer, gout, and hypertension. In New Britain, bark sap squeezed into water is occasionally drunk to combat anaemia. Bark sap, drunk three times daily, is said to induce abortion. Trobriand Island girls chew the leaves as an oral contraceptive. A poultice made from the leaves has been reported as a good remedy against skin diseases.

The latex also provides a good-quality chewing gum. The tree is sometimes planted as an ornamental.

Observations

  • A medium-sized to large tree 10-50(-60) m tall, bole cylindrical, in older trees massively fluted, up to 125 cm in diameter, with stout buttresses up to 10 m tall which spread out at the base for up to 4 m, outer bark brown or yellowish-white, smooth but coming off evenly in small papery flakes, with horizontally enlarged lenticels and hoops, inner bark yellow to brown, usually tinged yellowish, with copious white latex.
  • Leaves in whorls of 4-8(-9), narrowly elliptical to obovate, (5-)6-17(-22) cm × (1.5-)2.5-7.5(-8.5) cm, apex obtuse or rounded, with 25-45(-55) pairs of secondary veins, petiole 5-20(-25) mm long.
  • Inflorescence mostly formed of dense bunches of flowers, many-flowered, pedicel 0-2 mm long, calyx pubescent, corolla pubescent outside.
  • Follicles glabrous.

Two varieties can be recognized: var. scholaris, having glabrous leaves, and var. velutina Monach., having strigillose-pilose leaves beneath. The latter variety occurs in Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo and New Guinea. A. scholaris is most abundant in monsoon areas, and it tolerates a variety of soils and habitats, including secondary vegetation. It occurs up to 500(-1000) m altitude. As an ornamental it has proved adaptable to the climates of southern Florida and California (United States). The density of the wood is 270-490 kg/m3 at 15% moisture content. See also the table on wood properties.

Selected sources

  • [33]Ashton, P.S., 1988. Manual of the non-dipterocarp trees of Sarawak. 2 volumes. Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Sarawak branch, for Forest Department, Sarawak. 490 pp.
  • [35]Backer, C.A. & Bakhuizen van den Brink, R.C., 1963–1968. Flora of Java. 3 volumes. Noordhoff, Groningen.
  • [118] Biswas, D. & Bhattacharya, B., 1994. Studies on mammogenic effect of petroleum extract of some indigenous plants on mice. Indian Veterinary Journal 71(7): 662—665.
  • [67]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.
  • [100]Burgess, P.F., 1966. Timbers of Sabah. Sabah Forest Records No 6. Forest Department, Sabah, Sandakan. xviii + 501 pp.
  • [197] Choudhary, D.N., Singh, J.N. & Singh, B.P., 1991. Effect of some medicinal plants on fertility of albino rats. Indian Journal of Pharmacology 23(4): 253—257.
  • [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.
  • [263] Doan Thi Nhu, Do Huy Bich, Pham Kim Man, Nguyen Thuong Thuc, Bui Xuan Chuong & Pham Duy Mai (Editors), 1990. Les plantes médicinales au Vietnam. Livre 2. Médecine traditionnelle et pharmacopée [The medicinal plants of Vietnam. Volume 2. Traditional medicine and pharmacopoeia]. Agence de coopération Culturelle et Technique, Paris, France. 189 pp.
  • [334] Gandhi, M. & Vinayak, V.K., 1990. Preliminary evaluation of extracts of Alstonia scholaris bark for in vivo antimalarial activity in mice. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 29(1): 51—57.
  • [175]de Guzman, E, R. M. Umali, & E.D. Sotalbo, 1986. Guide to Philippine flora and fauna. Vol. 3: dipterocarps, non-dipterocarps. Natural Resources Management Center, Ministry of Natural Resources & University of the Philippines, Manila. xx + 414 pp.
  • [307]Hallé, F., Oldeman, R.A.A. & Tomlinson, P.B., 1978. Tropical trees and forests. An architectural analysis. Springer Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York. 441 pp.
  • [315]Hegnauer, R., 1962–1992. Chemotaxonomie der Pflanzen [Chemo-taxonomy of plants]. 10 volumes. Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel, Stuttgart.
  • [318]Heyne, K., 1927. De nuttige planten van Nederlands-Indië [The useful plants of the Dutch East Indies]. 2nd ed. 3 volumes. Departement van Landbouw, Nijverheid en Handel in Nederlandsch-Indië, 's-Gravenhage. 1953 pp.
  • [419] Holdsworth, D.K., 1987. Medicinal plants of the Central Province of Papua New Guinea. Part. IV. The Goilala Mountain People. International Journal of Crude Drug Research 25: 231—235.
  • [425] Holdsworth, D.K., 1992. Medicinal plants of the Gazelle Peninsula, New Britain Island, Papua New Guinea. Part I. International Journal of Pharmacognosy 30: 185—190.
  • [427] Holdsworth, D.K., 1993. Medicinal plants of the Oro (Northern) Province of Papua New Guinea. International Journal of Pharmacognosy 31: 23—28.
  • [431] Holdsworth, D.K. & Lacanienta, E., 1981. Traditional medicinal plants of the Central Province of Papua New Guinea. Part I. Quarterly Journal of Crude Drug Research 19(4): 144—154.
  • [433] Holdsworth, D.K. & Mahana, P., 1983. Traditional medicinal plants of the Huon Peninsula, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. International Journal of Crude Drug Research 21: 121—133.
  • [177]de Jong, B.H.J., 1979. A revision of the African species of Alstonia R. Br. (Apocynaceae). Mededelingen Landbouwhogeschool Wageningen 79–13: 1–16.
  • [503] Kamarajan, P., Sekar, N., Mathuram, V. & Govindasamy, S., 1991. Antitumor effect of echitamine chloride on methylcholonthrene induced fibrosarcoma in rats. Biochemistry International 25(3): 491—498.
  • [359]Keating, W.G. & Bolza, E., 1982. Characteristics, properties and uses of timbers. Vol. 1. South-East Asia, Northern Australia and the Pacific. Inkata Press Proprietary Ltd., Melbourne, Sydney & London. 362 pp.
  • [370]Kochummen, K.M. & Wong, K.M., 1984. A new Alstonia (Apocynaceae) from the Malay Peninsula and some comments on the genus. Blumea 29: 513–522.
  • [588] Leaman, D.J., Yusuf, R. & Sangat-Roemantyo, H., 1991. Kenyah Dayak forest medicines. Prospects for development and implications for conservation. Report for the World Wide Fund for Nature, Indonesia Programme. 34 pp. + appendices.
  • [440]Lopez, D.T., 1978. Malaysian timbers for pencil manufacture. Malaysian Forester 41: 17–25.
  • [455]Markgraf, F., 1974. Florae Malesianae praecursores LIV. Apocynaceae part III. 9. Alstonia. Blumea 22: 20–29.
  • [461]Martawijaya, A. et al., 1986. Indonesian wood atlas. Vol. 1. Forestry Products and Development Centre, Bogor. 166 pp.
  • [481]Meniado, J.A., America, W.M. & Tamolang, F.N., 1976. Technical information on dita (Alstonia scholaris (L.) R. Br.). Forpride Digest 5: 53–58.
  • [484]Meniado, J.A. et al., 1975–1981. Wood identification handbook for Philippine timbers. 2 volumes. Government Printing Office, Manila. 370 & 186 pp.
  • [672] Middleton, D.J., 1999. Apocynaceae. In: Santisuk, T. & Larsen, K. (Editors). Flora of Thailand. Vol. 7(1). The Forest Herbarium, Royal Forest Department, Bangkok, Thailand. pp. 1—153.
  • [496]Monachino, J., 1949. A revision of the genus Alstonia (Apocynaceae). Pacific Science 3: 133–182.
  • [739] Nguyen Van Duong, 1993. Medicinal plants of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Mekong Printing, Santa Ana, California, United States. 528 pp.
  • [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.
  • [560]Prawira, S.A. & Oetja, 1975. Pengenalan jenis-jenis pohon ekspor [Introduction to export timber tree species], serie KE: VII. Laporan No 214. Lembaga Penelitian Hutan, Bogor. 27 pp.
  • [810] Quisumbing, E., 1978. Medicinal plants of the Philippines. Katha Publishing Co., Quezon City, the Philippines. 1262 pp.
  • [579]Reyes, L.J., 1938. Philippine woods. Technical Bulletin No 7. Commonwealth of the Philippines, Department of Agriculture and Commerce. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 536 pp. + 88 plates.
  • [867] Saralamp, P., Chuakul, W., Temsiririrkkul, R. & Clayton, T. (Editors), 1996. Medicinal plants in Thailand. Vol. I. Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand. 219 pp.
  • [608]Seeber, G., Weidelt, H.J. & Banaag, V.S., 1979. Dendrological characters of important trees from eastern Mindanao. Philippine-German Rain Forest Development Project. German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ), Eschborn. 440 pp.
  • [619]Sim, H.C., 1982. Malaysian timbers – pulai. Malaysian Forest Service Trade Leaflet No 64. Malaysian Timber Industry Board, Kuala Lumpur. 7 pp.
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  • [671]Suttie, W.R., 1969. Manual of the forest trees of Papua and New Guinea, part 9 – Apocynaceae. Department of Forests, Port Moresby. 52 pp.
  • [704]Tomlinson, P.B. & Zimmerman, M.H. (Editors), 1978. Tropical trees as living systems. The proceedings of the Fourth Cabot Symposium held at Harvard Forest, Petersham, Massachusetts on April 26–30, 1976. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, London, New York, Melbourne. 675 pp.,
  • [753]Vidal, J., 1962. Noms vernaculaires de plantes en usage au Laos [Plant vernacular names used in Laos]. Ecole française d'extreme-Orient, Paris. 197 pp.
  • [1046] Viswanathan, S., Ramamurthy, N., Subramanian, S., Mathuram, V. & Govindasamy, S., 1997. Enhancement of the cytotoxic effects of echitamine chloride by vitamin A: An in vitro study on Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cell culture. Indian Journal of Pharmacology 29(4): 244—249.
  • [779]Whitmore, T.C. & Ng, F.S.P. (Editors), 1972–1989. Tree flora of Malaya. A manual for foresters. 4 Volumes. 2nd ed. Malayan Forest Records No 26. Longman Malaysia SDN Berhad, Kuala Lumpur.

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Authors

  • Rudjiman
  • Stephen P. Teo
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