Zanthoxylum rhetsa (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Zanthoxylum rhetsa (Roxb.) DC.

Protologue: Prodr. 1: 728 (1824).

Synonyms

• Fagara rhetsa Roxb. (1820),
• Zanthoxylum budrunga (Roxb.) DC. (1824),
• Zanthoxylum limonella (Dennst.) Alston (1931).

Vernacular names

• Indian ivy-rue (En)
• Indonesia: kayu lemah (Javanese), kayu tana (Madurese), ki tanah (Sundanese)
• Malaysia: hantu duri (Peninsular)
• Philippines: kayutana (Filipino), kaitana (Bisaya, Tagalog), kasabang (Iloko), salai (Bisaya)
• Burma (Myanmar): kathit-pyu
• Laos: khên¹, khouang
• Thailand: kamehat ton, luk ra mat (central), ma khuang (northern)
• Vietnam: cây hoàng mộc hôi, cóc hôi.

Distribution

From India and Sri Lanka to Burma (Myanmar), Indo-China, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Java, the Lesser Sunda Islands, Moluccas (Wetar), Sulawesi, the Philippines and southern Papua New Guinea.

Uses

In the Philippines, the bark pounded and mixed with oil is used externally as a remedy for stomach pains. A decoction of the bark is taken internally as a cure for pains in the chest. When chewed it is applied to snakebites. In India, the fruits are used in dyspepsia, asthma and bronchitis, heart troubles, toothache and rheumatism. The pericarps are credited with astringent, stimulant and digestive properties. The oil obtained by steam distillation is used as a traditional remedy for cholera. It is further applied as an antiseptic and disinfectant. In Java, the young fruits are eaten as a spice. In Burma (Myanmar), the young leaves are used as a seasoning.

Observations

• A dioecious, deciduous, medium-sized tree, up to 35 m tall.
• Branches sparsely armed with straight or ascending prickles, generally swollen and hollow.
• Leaves alternate, paripinnate or imparipinnate, 30-40 cm long, leaflets opposite to subopposite, 10-17, ovate to elliptical, 7-13 cm x 3-5 cm, occasionally pellucid dotted, margin entire to glandular crenate.
• Panicle terminal or axillary, 8-14 cm long.
• Flowers up to 2.5 mm long, 4-merous, sepals 4, petals 4, white or pale yellow; male flowers with 4 stamens, rudimentary carpel 1; female flowers with ovary 1-carpellate.
• Follicle subglobose, 6-7 mm in diameter, single.

Z. rhetsa occurs in rather dry, often monsoonal forest and thickets from sea-level up to 500 m altitude.

Selected sources

30, 74, 207,

• Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, 1948-1976. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials & industrial products. 11 volumes. Publications and Information Directorate, New Delhi, India.

391, 407, 488, 492, 502, 838, 954. (Medicinals)

Authors

• Tahan Uji

• M.S.M. Sosef