Common Name:

General Information

Aglaia elliptica is an evergreen tree with an irregularly rounded crown; it usually grows from 2 - 20 metres tall, but with some specimens to 40 metres. The bole is sometimes fluted throughout, with L-shaped buttresses up to 150cm tall and 100cm out from the bole. The bole can be free of branches for up to 15 metres and 50cm in diameter[].
The tree is harvested from the wild for its edible fruit, wood and for traditional medicinal purposes.
The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2011)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

E. Asia - Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines.

Habitat

A mid-canopy tree of swamp, primary and secondary forests; found on river banks, along roads, the edges of marshes and on periodically inundated land; growing on granite, clay, limestone, sandstone, sand; from sea level to 2,000 metres[, ].

Properties

Conservation Status	Least Concern
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	25.00 m
Pollinators	Insects
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the tropics, growing at elevations from sea level to 2,000 metres[].
Plants often withstand periodic inundation of the soil in their native habitats[].
All the fruits on any one infructescence ripen more or less together, but there are many infructescences on any one tree and these can ripen over a period of several weeks or months, thereby giving a prolonged season of fruit harvest[].
The male flowers are sweetly scented[].
A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required.

Edible Uses

Fruit. The fleshy pulp (aril) around the seeds is edible, with a flavour resembling cranberries[, , ]. The aril can be sweet or acidic[]. The orange, ellipsoid fruits are up to 35mm long and 30mm wide, containing 1 - 2 seeds[].

Medicinal

Bathing in water boiled with the bark is used as a treatment against tumours[, , , ].

The leaves are applied to wounds[, , ].

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)[, ].

The sapwood is a pale yellow, pinkish-red or a dark, reddish-brown[]. The wood is moderately heavy, hard and durable[, ]. It is used as timber, but the supply is scarce[]. It is used for furniture, general construction and agricultural implements[, ].
We do not have any more specific information on the wood of this species, but the general description of wood from trees in this genus is as follows:-
The heartwood is pale red to deep coppery red; it is clearly but not sharply distinguished from the pinkish or pale red sapwood. The texture is fine and dense; the grain often distinctly crossed and generally wavy, forming a regular diagonal wavy ribbon on radial sections; on tangential sections, an irregular, curly figure, marked with characteristic fine zigzag lines; most species have a distinct, even pungent, aromatic odour resembling both cedar and camphor. The wood is hard to very hard; heavy to very heavy; durable, the heartwood rarely if ever being attacked by termites, nor even the sapwood by beetles. It seasons well. It can be rather difficult to work, the curly and wavy grain requiring a very sharp and fine-set plane to surface it well; it can, however, take a very smooth surface under sharp tools. An attractive, strong and durable wood, individual species rarely come into the market, except in occasional very small lots. They are often well known locally for their strength and durability, being favourites for house posts, beams, window sills, windows, agricultural implements, etc. When available in sufficient size, the wood is suitable for a wide range of uses, including posts; ties; bridge and wharf building; beams, joists, rafters; flooring; sheathing and ceiling; fine furniture and cabinetwork[].

Propagation

Seed -

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