Common Name:

General Information

Bridelia retusa is a deciduous, large shrub or tree, usually growing up to 10 metres tall but occasionally to 20 metres. The bole is up to 30cm in diameter, armed with scattered, pointed thorns up to 4cm long[].
The tree is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine, food and source of a good quality wood.

Known Hazards

The bark is used as a poison[].

Botanical References

Range

E. Asia - China, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia.

Habitat

Quite common in forests and open land, reported from dry evergreen or deciduous forests; sandy-loamy soil, granite or basalt derived sandy soil, and limestone, at elevations from 50 - 600 metres, occasionally to 1,400 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Tree
Height	8.00 m
Growth Rate	Fast
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

A fairly fast-growing tree[].
The plant is reported to be resistant to fire in regularly burnt grassy savannahs[].

Edible Uses

Fruit[]. Very astringent[]. The dark reddish, globose fruits are up to 9mm in diameter[].

Medicinal

The bark is antiviral, hypoglycaemic, hypotensive[].

The bark contains tannins[].

Other Uses

The bark contains 16 - 40% tannins[].

The dull red wood is close-grained, moderately hard to hard[, ]. The wood is of good quality and colour, it is used for construction, railway ties, rafters, posts, and floor-boards; also used for cart-shafts, wheels and agricultural implements. It is suitable for tool-handles and helves[, ].
The wood is used for fuel[].

Propagation

Seed -

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