Common Name:

General Information

Carallia calycina is an evergreen tree. It can vary considerably in height, reaching 15 metres in locations such as China and Madagascar, but up to 50 metres in the humid forests of southeast Asia[, ]. The straight, cylindrical bole can be 25 - 70cm in diameter, occasionally with small buttresses and or aerial roots[, , ].
The tree is harvested from the wild for its timber. Specimens are usually are too scattered and too small to be of great importance for timber, but small amounts of timber are exported from areas such as Borneo and Papua New Guinea where the tree grows larger[]. Ornamental cultivars have been developed that are particularly suited to planting along roads and close to buildings[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

Africa - Madagascar; E. Asia - southern China, Indian subcontinent, Myanmar, Thailand, through Indo-China and SE Asia to Australia and Solomon Islands

Habitat

Lowland wet evergreen forest in Sri Lanka and Madagascar, at elevations up to 1,500 metres[, ]. A large canopy tree in New Guinean rainforests[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	15.00 m
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Older plants grow well in an open position, but younger plants are more tolerant of shade and dislike too much sun[]. Tolerant of wet soils and standing water[]. Young plants are sensitive to drought[].
Initial growth of young plants is slow, with seedlings only growing up to 35cm tall after 2 years, and up to 2.5 metres after 5 years[]. However, seedlings of columnar ornamental cultivars may reach 60cm tall in 10 months[].
Growth is monopodial and trees flower and fruit abundantly in mast fruiting years, but individual trees may flower less profusely in other years as well[].
Trees coppice well and reproduce freely from root suckers[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw[]. A pleasant, sweet-acid flavour[]. The fruit is a globose, fleshy, pink to red berry up to 7mm in diameter, with several seeds[].

Medicinal

The juice from the macerated leaves is used in the treatment of fevers[]

The pulverized bark is rubbed on the body in the treatment of smallpox[].

The leaves and bark are used in local medicine to treat septic poisoning and itch[].

Agroforestry Uses:

Plants growing in China have been found to be quite resistant to heavily polluted environments[]. This makes the plant a good candidate for use in reforestation and reclamation schemes on degraded and heavily polluted land[].

Other Uses

The heartwood is yellowish brown to reddish brown; it is indistinctly to moderately distinctly demarcated from the paler sapwood[]. The grain is straight, interlocked or slightly wavy, texture coarse and uneven. The wood is of medium weight; strong; durable under cover, but durability in contact with the ground or when exposed to the weather is moderate to poor; it is prone to termite and marine borer attack[]. Easy to saw and plane, the beautifully marbled wood takes a fine polish and is suitable for general construction, house building, posts, cabinet work, furniture, parquet flooring, railway sleepers, musical instruments, tool handles, picture frames, veneer, interior finish and panelling, pallets and packing material[, ].
Due to its high energy value the wood yields good-quality fuel wood and charcoal[].

Propagation

Seed - of limited viability, it is best sown as soon as it is ripe[]. Sown fresh, 45 - 100% of the seed can be expected to germinate within 4 - 15 weeks[]. Seedlings may be kept in the nursery for 2 years before being planted out in the field[].
Techniques for rapid multiplication by terminal branch cuttings have been developed in India; they include treatments with a fungicide and growth hormones[].

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