Terminalia arjuna (PROSEA)
Introduction |
Terminalia arjuna (Roxb. ex DC.) Wight & Arn.
- Protologue: Prodr. fl. Ind. orient.: 314 (1834).
- Family: Combretaceae
Synonyms
- Terminalia berryi Wight & Arn.,
- Terminalia glabra (Roxb.) Wight & Arn.
- Pentaptera arjuna Roxb. ex DC. (1828).
Vernacular names
- Arjun (En, India)
- Thailand: rok fa-khao (central).
Distribution
Native to India but introduced and frequently planted as an ornamental and roadside tree in Thailand; also planted in plantation trials in Indonesia (Java).
Uses
T. arjuna is an important source of timber in India and has potential elsewhere in the South-East Asian region; the wood is used as terminalia for the construction of carts and boats, for general construction, agricultural implements and mine props. The transparent gum is used as a drug in India. The bark is used medicinally as a tonic. In India the bark is locally used for tanning hides into leather. The tree is also planted for shade, especially in coffee plantations, and as an ornamental.
Observations
- A large tree, usually up to 30 m tall, but sometimes up to 60 m, bole with buttresses, with a diameter up to 2(-2.5) m; outer bark flaking off in pieces, inner bark whitish, exuding red resin.
- Leaves oblong to ovate-oblong, 8-15 cm × 4.5-9 cm, usually obliquely subcordate at base, glabrescent, with 15-25 pairs of secondary veins, petiole 0.5-1.5 cm long.
- Flowers in an axillary or terminal panicle 2.5-6 cm long, calyx tube glabrous outside
- Fruit broadly ellipsoid, truncate at the top, 3.5-5 cm × 2.5-3.2 cm, glabrous, with 5 leathery wings.
Timber greyish-brown with dark streaks, hard and heavy. The bark contains 20-24% tannin and a great amount of calcium carbonate. The tannin produces a superior light brown leather. When the bark is carefully removed without damaging the cambium, it will grow again. Fruits also contain tannin and may be used in tanning. This species grows naturally on banks of streams and rivers in central India, and is cultivated in Java at lower altitudes.
Selected sources
28, 392, 449, 574, 648, 666. timbers
7, 12, 24, 31, 32, 45, 46, 51. dyes