Common Name: East Indian Satinwood

General Information

East Indian satinwood is a deciduous small to medium-sized tree growing up to 18 metres tall[].
It produces a decorative wood of excellent quality that fetches high prices on the international market[].
Because of its high quality timber, the tree has been greatly overexploited in the wild and has become scarce in many areas, leading to it becoming listed as 'Vulnerable' in the IUCN Red list of threatened species[]. Some plantations have been established[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

E. Asia - India, Sri Lanka.

Habitat

Dry deciduous forest on poor, well-drained sandy or rocky soils, at low to medium altitudes[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Vulnerable
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Tree
Height	18.00 m
Growth Rate	Fast
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the lowland moist tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 450 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 30 - 40°c, but can tolerate 10 - 47°c[]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,000 - 1,500mm, but tolerates 750 - 1,900mm[].
Grows best in a sunny position[]. Succeeds in most soils that are well-drained[]. Prefers a pH in the range 6 - 7, tolerating 5 - 7.8[]. Established plants are drought tolerant[].
The tree has shown good growth rates in Nigeria[]. It coppices well[].
The plant is susceptible to fire damage[].
In India the tree is an alternative food-plant for the caterpillars of Papilio demoleus, a pest of Citrus spp[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

In India most plant parts are used in traditional medicine.
Research has shown the presence of various medically active substances in the plant. Coumarins and quinolinone alkaloids have been identified in the stem bark[]. Coumarins, and alkaloid and 2,4-dihydroxy-5-prenycinnamic acid are found in the heartwood[]. An essential oil in the leaves contains the terpenes limonene, germacrene D, geijerene, pregeijerene, trans-β-ocimene and methyl eugenol[]. Both the leaf and the stem oils exhibit moderate to strong activities against a panel of bacteria and fungi[].
The essential oil from the leaves and stems, plus several isolated compounds, display significant mosquitocidal activity by fumigation against Aedes aegypti, Anopheles gambiae and Culex quinquefasciatus, as well as activity against tobacco cutworm, Spodoptera litura[]. Methanol extracts of the dried leaves exhibit good analgesic activity[].

The crushed leaves are applied externally to treat wounds, snakebites and rheumatism[].

A paste of the leaves and roots is taken internally to treat headache and is applied to the forehead as a balm for the same purpose[].

The root bark in milk is drunk to treat impotence[].

A bark extract is considered astringent and taken to treat fever, chest pain and in a mixture with other plants to treat asthma[]. In friction it is used to treat bruises and painful joints[].

Other Uses

The seeds contain 16% non-drying oil[].

The wood is heavy, strong and hard, it has a slight pleasant fragrance when freshly cut. The heartwood is cream-coloured to golden yellow, darkening to brown with age; it is not clearly demarcated from the slightly paler sapwood. The grain is usually interlocked or wavy, texture fine and even. The wood is often striped or mottled, and remarkably lustrous. Dark gum veins are a common defect, as they are liable to develop into splits.
The wood is difficult to work with hand tools and moderately hard to saw and machine, with a moderate to severe blunting effect on cutting tools. In planing a cutting angle of 15° is required to avoid tearing. A neat finishing makes it possible to obtain a perfectly polished surface and a beautiful glazed effect. Boring operations are reported to be rather difficult, and the wood requires to be held firmly in boring operations to prevent chattering. Preboring is recommended in nailing and screwing, but nail-holding and screw-holding properties are rated as good. The wood turns and stains well, but is difficult to glue[].
The heartwood is rated as highly resistant to attack by all types of fungi, but in India it is reported to possess little resistance to attack by termites. It is also susceptible to attack by marine borers, and to a lesser extent by pinhole borers and longhorn beetles. The sapwood is not susceptible to Lyctus borers. The heartwood is extremely resistant to preservative treatment. The wood is reported to cause skin irritation[].
A decorative timber, it is used for furniture, panelling, pattern making, interior trim, cabinet work, flooring, boxes, crates, interior joinery, carvings, toys, musical instruments and luxury goods. It is made into decorative veneer, which is, however, unsuitable for plywood manufacture because of its weight. Because of its strength it is also used for heavy construction, railway sleepers, boat building and agricultural equipment[].
The wood is also used as fuel wood[].

Propagation

Seed -

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