Anthocephalus chinensis (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Anthocephalus chinensis (Lamk) A. Rich. ex Walp.

Protologue: Repert. bot. syst. 2: 491 (1843).

Synonyms

• Anthocephalus indicus A. Rich. (1830),
• Anthocephalus cadamba (Roxb.) Miq. (1856),
• Neolamarckia cadamba (Roxb.) Bosser (1984).

Vernacular names

• Kadam, cadamba, common bur-flower tree (En)
• Kadam (Fr)
• Brunei: bangkal, kaatoan bangkal
• Indonesia: jabon (Java), laran (Kalimantan), emajang (Sumatra)
• Malaysia: kelempayan (Peninsular), laran (Peninsular, Sabah), selimpoh (Sarawak)
• Papua New Guina: labula
• Philippines: kaatoan bangkal (general)
• Burma: mau-lettan-she, maukadon, yemau
• Cambodia: thkoow
• Laos: koo-somz, sako
• Thailand: krathum, krathum bok, takoo
• Vietnam: cây gáo, cà tom, gáo trắng.

Distribution

Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Burma, Indo-China, southern China, Thailand, eastward through Malesia to New Guinea.

Uses

The timber is used as kadam. A. chinensis is planted as an ornamental and shade tree or for reforestation and afforestation and agroforestry. Leaves and bark are used in traditional medicine. Inflorescences and fruits are said to be edible.

Observations

• A medium-sized to large tree up to 45 m tall, bole straight and cylindrical, branchless for more than 25 m, up to 100(-160) cm in diameter but generally less, sometimes with small buttresses up to 2 m high and extending up to 60 cm from the trunk.
• Leaves 13-32 cm × 7-15 cm, with an acute to acuminate apex, distinctly petiolate with a 2.5-6 cm long petiole.
• Flower heads 3-5 cm wide, upper part of the ovary distinctly 4-loculed with 4 hollow cartilagineous structures.

A. chinensis occurs mainly in secondary vegetation and along rivers on fertile, often periodically flooded locations up to 1000 m altitude. The density of the wood is 290-465(-560) kg/m³ at 15% moisture content. See also the table on wood properties.

Selected sources

40, 50, 77, 89, 100, 102, 108, 145, 153, 175, 211, 215, 247, 248, 302, 310, 313, 359, 396, 410, 448, 462, 482, 578, 581, 582, 583, 631, 661, 712.

Main genus page

• Anthocephalus

Authors

• M.S.M. Sosef (selection of species)