Common Name:

General Information

Aglaia leptantha is a tree with an irregularly rounded or narrowly conical crown; it usually grows up to 30 metres tall but some specimens can reach 40 metres. The bole is fluted near the base or with small buttresses up to 30cm tall and root-like buttresses growing outwards for up to 135cm. The bole can be free of branches for up to 16 metres and 40cm in diameter[, ].
The tree is sometimes harvested from the wild for its wood and edible fruit, which are used locally.
Habitat loss is the main threat to this species. It is classified as 'Near Threatened' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2011)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

Southeast Asia - Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines.

Habitat

A sub-canopy tree of primary forest, including seasonal swamp, ridge forest, montane forest and in kerangas; growing on sandstone, limestone, sand, granitic sand, clay and podzolic sand; at elevations from 20 - 1,700 metres[, ].

Properties

Conservation Status	Near Threatened
Edibility Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Tree
Height	25.00 m
Pollinators	Insects
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

The plant is often found in the wild in Kerangas forest - a type of moist, heath forest found on acidic, sandy soils that are low in nutrients, especially nitrogen[].
Plants can commence flowering and fruiting when about 4 metres tall[].
A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required.

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw[]. The gelatinous, translucent flesh (aril) covering the seed has a sweet - sour flavour[]. The fruit is up to 32mm long and 30mm wide, containing one or two seeds[].

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)[, ].

The wood is durable[]. One of the hardest, heaviest, densest, and finest woods of the genus[]. It is used for house construction and making furniture[].
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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