Common Name:

General Information

Aglaia spectabilis is an evergreen tree with a broad, rounded crown; it can grow up to 40 metres tall. The straight, cylindrical bole has plank buttresses up to 200cm tall and 370cm out. It can be free of branches for 15 metres or more, with a diameter of around 150cm[].
The tree is harvested from the wild for its oil and valuable timber. It is sometimes planted as an ornamental[].
The plant is vulnerable to habitat destruction. It is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2011)[].

Known Hazards

The sawdust can cause dermatitis[].

Botanical References

,

Range

E. Asia - China, India, Sikkim, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines to New Guinea and Australia.

Habitat

An upper canopy tree in secondary forest, riverine forest, primary forest, alluvial flats, coastal swamp and along the seashore; on sandy clay, sand, loam, sandstone, alluvial, coral; at elevations from sea level up to 650 metres[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Least Concern
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	30.00 m
Pollinators	Insects
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Trees can commence flowering when about 8 metres tall[].
A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The genus 'Aglaia' is the only source of the group of about 50 known representatives of compounds that bear a unique cyclopenta[b]tetrahydrobenzofuran skeleton. These compounds are more commonly called rocaglate or rocaglamide derivatives, or flavaglines, and most have been found to have potent insecticidal properties, antifungal, antiviral, antibacterial or anthelmintic bioactivity. Several of them exhibit pronounced cytotoxic activity against a range of human cancers. Since the first representative in this group was only discovered in 1982, this is one of the few recent examples of a completely new class of plant secondary metabolites of biological promise (see B. G. Wang et al., Biochem. Syst. Ecol. 32: 1223-1226. 2004; L.W. Chaidir et al., J. Nat. Prod. 64: 1216-1220. 2001)[, ].

Other Uses

The genus 'Aglaia' is the only source of the group of about 50 known representatives of compounds that bear a unique cyclopenta[b]tetrahydrobenzofuran skeleton. These compounds are more commonly called rocaglate or rocaglamide derivatives, or flavaglines, and most have been found to have potent insecticidal properties, antifungal, antiviral, antibacterial or anthelmintic bioactivity. Several of them exhibit pronounced cytotoxic activity against a range of human cancers. Since the first representative in this group was only discovered in 1982, this is one of the few recent examples of a completely new class of plant secondary metabolites of biological promise (see B. G. Wang et al., Biochem. Syst. Ecol. 32: 1223-1226. 2004; L.W. Chaidir et al., J. Nat. Prod. 64: 1216-1220. 2001)[, ].

A brown oil is obtained from the seed[, ].

The heartwood is reddish-brown, the sapwood pinkish[]. The wood is hard and close-grained[]. A magnificent timber, it is used for making furniture, wall panelling, decorative work, boat building etc[, , , ].

Propagation

Seed -

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