Gmelina arborea

Gmelina arborea flowers of

Gmelina arborea is a species of the mint family ( Lamiaceae). It originates from Southeast Asia, but is widely planted in the tropics.

Features

Gmelina arborea is a fast-growing, deciduous tree that stature heights of 12 to 30, rarely to 40 meters reached. The trunk is on the lower 6-9 meters often free of branches, sometimes crooked and the tree crown is wide spreading. The wood is pale yellow in color and soft to moderately hard. Young twigs are square in cross section slightly, they are densely brown hairy. Older branches have a smooth gray-brown bark.

The stalked leaves are simple, 10-20 cm long and 7-13 centimeters wide. At the transition from petiole to leaf blade sit some glands. The leaf blade is broadly oval, broadly wedge -shaped to heart-shaped and the tip is pulled out at the base long. The petiole and the protruding on the underside of leaves leaf veins are hairy.

The 15 to 30 centimeters long inflorescences are thyrsi, they are terminally on the branches, the inflorescence axis is hairy. The individual short -stalked flower is about 4 inches long, bell-shaped, orange, yellow and brownish in color. The flowering occurs in February to April and fruiting from May to June. The fruits are orange - yellow when ripe.

Distribution and habitat

Gmelina arborea is native to India, Southeast Asia (Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines) and in the southern provinces of China. The tree rises to altitudes of 1500 meters. As a plantation tree he is to be found throughout the tropical region.

Gmelina arborea prefers fresh soil at 750 to 4500 mm annual rainfall. But even in drier regions with drying times of six to seven months, he can still grow.

Use

The wood used for outdoor furniture, construction wood, cars, sports, music instruments and artificial limbs. This versatile wood has the trade name Gmelina, Yemane, Gumhar, Malay beechwood May, Saw, So, So - Maeo.

The root and bark is used, inter alia, for the preparation of pharmacologically and laxative agent for improving appetite. Various parts of the tree are in the folk medicine use: the broth of leaves, roots or bark, and fruit.

Swell

• James A. Duke: Handbook of Energy Crops. 1983, unpublished.
• Shou- liang Chen, Michael G. Gilbert: Verbenaceae. In: Wu Zhengyi, Peter H. Raven, Hong Deyuan (eds.): Flora of China. Vol 17, p 33 ( efloras.org )
• HG Richter, MJ Dallwitz: Commercial timbers of the University of Hamburg Department of Biology.