Clausena harmandiana (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Clausena harmandiana (Pierre) Pierre ex Guillaumin

Protologue: Notul. Syst. (Paris) 1: 219 (1910).

Synonyms

• Glycosmis harmandiana Pierre (1893),
• Clausena oliveri Koord. ex Backer (1911),
• Clausena hirta Ridley (1920).

Vernacular names

• Malaysia: kasai (Peninsular)
• Thailand: song faa, long faa dong (north-eastern), men (south-eastern).

Distribution

Indo-China, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia (eastern Java, Lesser Sunda Islands).

Uses

In Thailand a decoction of the roots is taken as an antipyretic, antiflatulent and stomachic, and for food poisoning. It also relieves headache and bronchitis.

Observations

• An undershrub, 1-5(-8) m tall.
• Rachis 15-55 cm long, leaflets 5-7(-13), largest ones in the upper half, ovate-oblong, 4-8(-25) cm × 2-7(-15) cm, base obtuse to cuneate, apex acute to acuminate, margin entire or crenulate, glabrous or hairy, veins prominent beneath.
• Panicle terminal, conical, compact, little branched in upper part, 3-35 cm × 2-25 cm.
• Flowers usually 5-merous, subsessile, calyx minute, large gland at base of lobes, usually glabrous, petals ovate, 3-4 mm long, pale green to yellowish-white, stamens 10, gland at connective, gynophore short, ovary rounded, glandular, sometimes with a few hairs, style thick, up to 1 mm long, persistent.
• Berry ovoid, up to 1.5 cm long, reddish-purple, glabrous or thinly hairy, 1-3-seeded.

C. harmandiana occurs in brushwood, from sea-level up to 400 m.

Selected sources

• [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.
• [201] Chuakul, W., Saralamp, P., Paonil, W., Temsiririrkkul, R. & Clayton, T. (Editors), 1997. Medicinal plants in Thailand. Vol. II. Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand. 248 pp.
• [1054] Wangboonskul, J.D., Pummangura, S. & Chaichantipyuth, C., 1984. Five coumarins and a carbazole alkaloid from the root bark of Clausena harmandiana. Journal of Natural Products 47(6): 1058—1059.
• [1109] Yenjai, C., Sripontan, S., Sriprajun, P., Kittakoop, P., Jintasirikul, A., Tanticharoen, M. & Thebtaranonth, Y., 2000. Coumarins and carbazoles with antiplasmodial activity from Clausena harmandiana. Planta Medica 66(3): 277—279.

Main genus page

• Clausena

Authors

• G.H. Schmelzer