Chloranthus erectus (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Chloranthus erectus (Buch.-Ham.) Verdc.

Protologue: Kew Bull. 40(1): 217 (1985).

Family: Chloranthaceae

Chromosome number: 2n= unknown

Synonyms

Cryphaea erecta Buch.-Ham. (1825), Chloranthus officinalis Blume (1827) and perhaps C. elatior Link (1821).

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: keras tulang (Malay), uyah-uyahan (Javanese), harostulang (Sumatra)
• Malaysia: dikut-dikut, langut-langut (Sarawak), sambau paya (Peninsular)
• Philippines: barau-barau (Luzon), tul-an hinbad (Samar), tunggao (Tagbanua)
• Cambodia: kbâ:k dâmréi
• Thailand: hom kai (northern), kraduk kai (central).

Origin and geographic distribution

C. erectus is found in continental Asia from Nepal to Yunnan and the Andaman Islands, and throughout the Malesian region as far as New Guinea.

Uses

All parts of C. erectus can be used to make a tea. Before Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze was planted in Java, the Javanese used dried leaves and roots of C. erectus to make "tea", while the Sundanese used only the dried roots. In that period, dried stems, leaves and roots were sold in markets in Java. Nowadays, C. erectus parts are used only locally as a flavouring agent for home-grown tea. C. erectus plants are sometimes grown in Chinese-owned tea plantations and their leaves and flowers are added to drying tea leaves to impart a specific flavour and taste.

Tea made from the leaves or roots is drunk for medicinal purposes in Indonesia and Malaysia. It has sudorific activity and is especially used to treat fever and complaints accompanied by fever. A powder from boiled and dried roots is rubbed on the body to treat fever. Leaf extracts are used to cure venereal diseases. Root extracts are sometimes mixed with the bark of "kulit lawang" ( Cinnamomum culitlawan (L.) Kosterm.) as an antispasmodic during childbirth. Women in Kalimantan use a drink from boiled branches to prevent conception. In Java several farmers cultivate C. erectus in their home gardens as an ingredient for traditional herbal drinks ("jamu"). Tribal people in northern Thailand boil the roots of C. erectus ( C. elatior ), C. nervosus Collett & Hemsley and Senna occidentalis (L.) Link, and drink the liquid against malaria; they also use C. erectus ( C. elatior ) as a dye plant, producing dark blue or black colours. Because of its fragrant flowers and leaves, and its good response to shaping, C. erectus is also grown as an ornamental in Indonesia.

Production and international trade

In the 19th Century the Dutch colonial government prohibited the cultivation of Chloranthus in Indonesia, in order to promote the planting and production of tea ( Camellia sinensis ). Since then Chloranthus has lost its popularity as a beverage, and now it is difficult to find dried material of "keras tulang" on the market. Only small quantities of dried material are sold together with other ingredients for traditional medicines.

Properties

All parts of C. erectus are fragrant and aromatic, especially the leaves, stems and roots when crushed. Crushed roots and branches have a camphor-like smell and a slightly peppery and rather bitter taste. The leaves contain an essential oil and the phenolic compound β-coumaric acid which is similar to that of Piperaceae .

Description

A glabrous, aromatic, slightly woody herb or small shrub up to 3 m tall; nodes swollen, sometimes purplish. Leaves decussately opposite; petiole 1-1.5 cm long; stipules small, subulate; blade oblong-lanceolate to elliptical or ovate-oblong, 8-29 cm × 3-13 cm, base cuneate, margin shallowly glandular-serrate, apex long acuminate, penninerved, bright green, glossy above. Inflorescence a terminal, peduncled panicle consisting of 5-13 spikes 2.5-5 cm long; bracts sheathing, ovate, acute; flowers much reduced, without perianth, bisexual; the male part a 3-lobed organ (fused stamens?) adnate to the upper half of the ovary, 1.2-1.6 mm long, with 3 anthers, median one 2-locellate, lateral ones 1-locellate, yellow, greenish-white or violet-white; the female part composed of a 1-locular ovary with a single ovule, partly enclosed by the male part, stigma subsessile, truncate. Fruit a drupe, subglobose or ellipsoid, 5-7 mm in diameter, fleshy, white-cream or rarely tinged violet or pinkish, glossy. Seed subglobose, yellow-white, minutely apiculate, narrow below, surrounded by a thin, fibrous endocarp; testa with lignified endotestal palisade cells.

Growth and development

When C. erectus germinates the radicle appears first, followed a few days later by the plumule.

At the age of 1-2 months seedlings have 2-3 pairs of leaves and are 10-15 cm tall. Growth is sympodial. Flowering and fruiting starts when plants are 2 years old. At an age of 4-5 years, flowers and fruits are produced regularly throughout the year. The flowers are presumably pollinated by insects, whereas birds eat and disperse the ripe fruits.

Other botanical information

The Chloranthaceae are generally regarded as a very primitive family. This is supported by the lack of vessels in the xylem of Sarcandra Gardner and the unspecialized vessels in Chloranthus Swartz, and by the presence of a gymnosperm type of lignin, guaiacyl lignin, in both genera.

The name Chloranthus elatior was published before Cryphaea erecta and would seem to have nomenclatural priority. However, the true identity of C. elatior remains doubtful since the only (sterile) specimen fragmentarily described by Link was destroyed in Berlin during the Second World War.

Ecology

In the wild, C. erectus grows in primary and secondary tropical forest, at (20-)50-1450(-2550) m altitude. At higher altitudes it is often found in Araucaria and Nothofagus - Castanopsis forest, often on limestone. Its lowland forest habitats include Pandanus and palm forest, riverine forest, and boggy areas.

Propagation and planting

Both seeds and cuttings of C. erectus are used for propagation. Optimal germination is obtained by using ripe seeds, dried in the shade, and with the testa removed. Seeds are sown directly in moist and shaded nursery beds and germination follows within a week. Seedlings are ready to be pricked out into individual pots about 2 months later. They are kept in a shaded nursery for another 2-3 weeks and subsequently planted out in the field. Field planting should take place in the wet season to avoid moisture stress.

Cuttings 10-15 cm long are taken from internodes of branches with a diameter of about 5-8 mm. They should be placed in a shaded container or in a bin, and the soil and air should be kept moist by spraying. The cuttings are inserted in the planting medium to a depth of about 2 cm. Some growers use hormones such as indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) to stimulate root growth. After one week roots are about 1 cm long, and after 3 weeks the first pair of leaves have appeared. When 2-3 pairs of leaves have appeared, the plants are ready to be pricked out individually into pots. They need initial shade and are gradually hardened off before being planted out in the field.

Yield

Although leaves and flowers of C. erectus are still used as a flavouring agent in small-scale tea industries, no yield data are available.

Handling after harvest

Harvested parts of C. erectus are dried and stored. Dried parts gradually lose their aroma, but roots keep their odour and taste for a very long time if dried quickly and stored carefully.

Genetic resources

C. erectus is found in primary and secondary forest, home gardens and village groves. As forest areas are continuously being cleared for new resettlement schemes or for plantations (oil palm, pulp and timber industries, etc.), C. erectus is threatened with extinction and germplasm collection is needed. In home gardens and botanical gardens some germplasm of C. erectus and its close relative C. spicatus (Thunb.) Makino is available in most countries of South-East Asia.

Prospects

C. erectus may have potential as an alternative to tea and, as is evidenced by ethnobotanical information, as a phytomedicine. Its ability to grow in various habitats from low to high altitudes may stimulate this possible development.

Literature

• Anderson, E.F., 1993. Plants and people of the Golden Triangle: ethnobotany of the hill tribes of northern Thailand. Dioscorides Press, Portland, Oregon, United States. 279 pp.
• Backer, C.A. & Bakhuizen van den Brink Jr, R.C., 1963. Flora of Java. Vol. 1. Wolters-Noordhoff, Groningen, the Netherlands. pp. 175-176.
• Burkill, I.H., 1935. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. Governments of the Straits Settlements and Federal Malay States, Crown Agents for the Colonies, London, United Kingdom. pp. 528-529.
• Carlquist, S., 1992. Wood anatomy and stem of Chloranthus; summary of wood anatomy of Chloranthaceae, with comments on relationships, vessellessness, and the origin of monocotyledons. IAWA (International Association of Wood Anatomists) Bulletin, new series 13(1): 3-16.
• Heyne, K., 1927. De nuttige planten van Nederlandsch-Indië [The useful plants of the Dutch East Indies]. 2nd edition. Vol. 1. Departement van Landbouw, Nijverheid en Handel in Nederlandsch-Indië. p. 534. (3rd edition, 1950. van Hoeve, 's Gravenhage/Bandung, the Netherlands/Indonesia.)
• Verdcourt, B., 1986. Chlorantaceae. In: van Steenis, C.G.G.J. & de Wilde, W.J.J.O. (Editors): Flora Malesiana. Series 1, Vol. 10. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, the Netherlands. pp. 123-144.

Authors

Harini M. Sangat