Common Name:

General Information

Aglaia odorata is a slow-growing, much branche, evergreend shrub or small tree growing up to 10 metres tall[]. The bole can be 15cm in diameter[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of wood and essential oil. It is often grown as a hedge, and is cultivated in gardens of southeast Asia as an ornamental and for the very fragrant flowers which are used to flavour tea, to scent clothes etc; the flowers are commonly found for sale in local markets[, ].
Although often cultivated, the species' status in the wild remains unclear. It has been classified as 'Near Threatened' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2011)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

E. Asia - southern China, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Habitat

An understorey shrub in sparse forests or thickets in mountainous regions at low elevations in southern China[]. Evergreen forests; more open, secondary formations; along the coast; often in clay soils; at elevations to 700 metres[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Near Threatened
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Shrub
Height	8.00 m
Growth Rate	Slow
Pollinators	Insects
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Often found growing on clay soils in the wild[].
The plant produces fragrant flowers for much of the year[]. The fragrance is most intense in the evening[].
The female form is rare in cultivation because the flowers are not as aromatic as the male plant[].
A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if seed is required.

Edible Uses

The flowers are dried and used for scenting tea[, , ]. The flowers are exquisitely scented, somewhat like vanilla but with spicy undertones[].

Tender young leaves - cooked and eaten as a vegetable[].

Medicinal

The roots and the leaves are considered anticonculsive, aromatic, febrifuge, pectoral, stimulant and tonic[, ]. A water infusion of the roots and leaves has been used as heart stimulant and febrifuge[].

An infusion of the flowers is given as a cooling drink for treating eruptive fevers[].

An infusion of the leaves is taken as a tonic for treating excessive menses and venereal diseases.[].

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)[, ].

Agroforestry Uses:

A good, if slow growing, hedge plant[]. When trimmed regularly, the plant forms a dense, neat hedge[]. Very amenable to trimming, it is used for topiary in Asia[].

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 flowers are used to scent clothes, are added to potpourris and also used in making joss sticks[, , , ]. The dried flowers retain their perfume almost indefinitely[].

Flower pellets show potential as an organic herbicide for the control of barnyard grass weed[].
Organic extracts of the twigs and leaves yielded eight insecticidal cyclopentatetrahydrobenzofuran rocaglamide derivatives. The isolated rocaglamide derivatives exhibited strong insecticidal activity towards neonate larvae of the polyphagous pest insect Spodophera littoralis when incorporated into artificial diet[].

The wood is particularly good for turnery[].

Propagation

Seed -
Cuttings[].

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