Aphanamixis polystachya

Aphanamixis polystachya (Wall.) R.Parker, Indian Forester 57: 486 (1931).

Aphanamixis polystachya (Wall.) R.Parker

Vietnamese name: Gội nước

Chinese name: 山楝 shan lian

Assamese: Boga-amari, Omrai, Hakhori Bakhori, Hakhori-bakhori

Bengali: Tiktaraj

English: Rohituka tree

Hindi: हरिनहर्रा Harin-hara, Harinkhana

Kannada: Roheethaka, Mullumuttaga, Mulluhitthalu, Mukhyamuttage

Khasi Dieng Rata

Malayalam: Karakil, Sem, Chemmaram

Manipuri: হৈৰাঙখোঈ Heirangkhoi

Marathi Raktharohida: 'रक्‍तरोहिडा'

Others: Pithraj Tree, Agan, Soorai lachuvaram, Sahala, Vangul, Melampuluvam

Sanskrit Lohita, Lakshmivana, Ksharayogya, Lakshmi, Anavallabha

Tamil Sem, Semmaram, Malampuluvan

Latin Name: Aphanamixis polystachya (Wall.) R.Parker

Synonym Name:

Aglaia aphanamixis Pellegr.; Aglaia beddomei (Kosterm.) S.S.Jain & R.C.Gaur; Aglaia cochinchinensis (Pierre) Pellegr.; Aglaia janowskyi Harms; Aglaia polystachya Wall.; Alliaria cuneata (Hiern) Kuntze; Amoora amboinensis Miq.; Amoora beddomei Kosterm.; Amoora cumingiana C.DC.; Amoora elmeri Merr.; Amoora grandifolia Walp.; Amoora janowskyi (Harms) Kosterm.; Amoora myrmecophila Warb.; Amoora polillensis C.B.Rob.; Amoora polystachya (Wall.) Steud.; Amoora rohituka (Roxb.) Wight & Arn.; Andersonia rohituka Roxb.; Aphanamixis agusanensis Elmer; Aphanamixis amboinensis (Miq.) Harms; Aphanamixis apoensis Elmer; Aphanamixis blumei Span.; Aphanamixis cochinchinensis Pierre; Aphanamixis coriacea Merr.; Aphanamixis cumingiana (C.DC.) Harms; Aphanamixis davaoensis Elmer; Aphanamixis elmeri (Merr.) Merr.; Aphanamixis grandifolia Blume; Aphanamixis lauterbachii Harms; Aphanamixis macrocalyx Harms; Aphanamixis myrmecophila (Warb.) Harms; Aphanamixis obliquifolia Elmer; Aphanamixis perrottetiana A.Juss.; Aphanamixis pinatubensis Elmer; Aphanamixis polillensis (C.B.Rob.) Merr.; Aphanamixis rohituka (Roxb.) Pierre; Aphanamixis schlechteri Harms; Aphanamixis sinensis F.C.How & T.C.Chen; Aphanamixis timorensis A.Juss.; Aphanamixis tripetala (Blanco) Merr.; Aphanamixis velutina Elmer; Canarium vrieseo-teysmannii H.J.Lam; Chuniodendron spicatum Hu; Chuniodendron yunnanense Hu; Dysoxylum cuneatum Hiern; Dysoxylum spiciflorum Zipp. ex Miq.; Epicharis cuneata (Hiern) Harms; Ricinocarpodendron polystachyum (Wall.) Mabb.; Sphaerosacme polystachya Wall.; Sphaerosacme spicata Wall.; Trichilia tripetala Blanco

Family:

Meliaceae

Description:

Trees or shrubs, (2-)20-30 m tall. Leaves odd- or even- pinnate, 30-60(-90) cm; leaflets (5-)9-21, opposite; petiolules (2-)6-12 mm; leaflet blades oblong-elliptic, elliptic, or ovate, (7-)17-26 × 4-10 cm with basal pair smallest, membranous when young, subleathery to leathery when mature, with visible transparent tiny spots under sunlight, both surfaces glabrous, secondary veins (8-)11-20 on each side of midvein and slender, base oblique and cuneate to broadly cuneate or sometimes one side rounded, margin entire, apex caudate-acuminate to obtuse. Inflorescences axillary, less than 30 cm. Flowers 6-7 mm in diam., with 3 bracteoles. Sepals 5, suborbicular, 1-1.5 mm in diam., margin sometimes ciliate. Petals 3-7 mm in diam., concave. Staminal tube globose, glabrous; anthers 5 or 6, oblong. Ovary 3-locular, with thick trichomes. Capsule spherical-pyriform to nearly ovoid, 2-2.5 × 2.5-3 cm, orangish when mature. Seeds grayish brown, oblate, 1.3-1.5 × 1-1.2 cm. Fl. May-Sep, fr. Oct-Apr.

Cultivation Details:

- Succeeds in a range of soils from sands to clays and on limestones, usually in well-drained situations but also able to tolerate seasonal inundation.

- Plants often commence flowering when very small

Distribution:

It is found in Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam; Pacific islands (Solomon Islands).

Habitat:

Dense or sparse mixed evergreen broad-leaved and deciduous forests in mountainous regions at low to middle elevations in southern China. Evergreen or open degraded forests, often along rivers, at elevations from 400 - 600 metres.

Ecological:

Grasslands, along roads, in forest clearings and on river banks, at elevations up to 1,500 metres. Open grasslands, waste places, along dikes, rice paddies and other moist places in the Philippines.

Chemistry:

Fruit shell contains triterpenes, aphanamixin. Bark contains tetranortriterpene, and aphanamixinin. Leaves contain diterpene, alcohol, aphanamixol and ß-sitosterol. Seeds yield a limonoid, rohitukin, polystachin and others, an alkaloid, a glycoside and a saponin. A chromone and three flavonoid glycosides have been reported from the roots.

Pharmacology: Anti-diabetic, anti-microbial, anti-tumor antioxidant, cytotoxicacivity, hepatoprotective, anti-bacterial, anthelmintic and anti-rheumatic

Use:

The seed oil is used for making soap and lubricating oil. The very fine wood is used for construction and ship-making.

Medicinal:

- The bark is astringent. It is used in the treatment of spleen and liver diseases, tumours and abdominal complaints.

- The bark is used for a remedy for rheumatism, colds and chest pains.

- The oil from the seed is used as a liniment in the treatment of rheumatism.

Reference:

- theplantlist.org

- efloras.org

- ipni.org

- Shaikh, Saba; Dubey, Ravi; Dhande, Swati; Joshi, Y M; Kadam, Vilasrao; Phytochemical and Pharmacological Profile of Aphanamixis polystachya: An Overview

J. Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology; Raipur Vol. 5, Iss. 10,  (Oct 2012): 1260-1263.