Common Name: Chickrassy

General Information

Chickrassy is a medium-sized, sometimes fairly large tree usually growing up to 30 metres tall but with some specimens up to 40 metres[, ]. It can be deciduous or evergreen depending upon the environment in which it grows. The straight bole can be branchless for up to 25 metres[]. The bole is fluted below, up to 120cm diameter and has convex buttresses up to 150cm tall[].
The tree is widely exploited in the wild for its valuable timber, which is traded internationally[, ]. It also has local medicinal uses, supplies various commodities and is a useful agroforestry species. It is grown as a plantation tree in several countries outside its native range, and is also sometimes grown as an ornamental[].
Rates of timber exploitation in Vietnam have caused such declines in population numbers that, at a national level, the species qualifies as critically endangered. On an international level it has been classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2011)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

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

Habitat

A dominant tree, usually found scattered in the top canopy of lowland evergreen or deciduous forest. It occasionally occurs as a colonizer of bare land, including road cuttings[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Least Concern
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Tree
Height	30.00 m
Growth Rate	Medium
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Chickrassy is a plant of the lowland tropics, usually found in an altitude range of 300 - 800 metres[]. It succeeds in areas where the mean annual temperature is in the range 20 - 25°c with an absolute minimum of 5 - 10°c[]. It grows best in areas where the mean annual rainfall is 1,400 - 4,000mm - it can tolerate as little as 850mm rainfall, but growth is then rather slow, in fact it does not achieve its full potential below 2,000mm rainfall[].
Prefers a sunny position, tolerating light shade[]. Avoids heavy and wet soils[]. It is usually found on well-drained soil in the plains and on hills[]. Plants are often found on limestone in the wild[]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, tolerating 5 - 7[]. Plants are generally wind-tolerant[].
The growth of seedlings is moderately fast over the first few years with plants reaching a height of 1.2 - 2.1 metres after two years; 2.8 - 3.4 metres after 3 years; 5.5 metres tall after 6 years[].
The tree coppices particularly well[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

An extract of the bark has powerful astringent properties and has been used to treat diarrhoea and as a febrifuge[, ].

A leaf extract has been reported to exhibit considerable antimalarial activity, as well as antibacterial and antifungal activities; the essential oil present in the leaf is responsible for these activities[]. The oil consists of oxygenated monoterpenes (42.8%, mainly carvacrol, thymol and borneol), phenyl propanoids (25.2%, mainly (E)-methyl isoeugenol and myristicin) and smaller amounts of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, monoterpene hydrocarbons and oxygenated sesquiterpenes[].

Agroforestry Uses:

The tree is regarded as a pioneer species and is common in areas where shifting cultivation used to be practised[].
The straight bole and self-pruning ability make it a suitable tree for growing in combination with crops, such as banana, Citrus spp., and guava[]. It is grown to provide shade in coffee plantations in India[]. Its coppicing and pollarding ability make it particularly suitable for home gardens[].

Other Uses

A yellow, transparent gum exudes from the trunk and is marketed in admixture with other gums[].

The flowers contain a red and a yellow dye[].

The young leaves and bark contain 22% and 15% of tannin respectively[].

An extract from the twigs has proved an efficacious antifeedant against Pieris rapae in southern China[].
Root extracts showed antifeedant activity against Spodoptera insects, with phragmalin limonoids (tabulalin and tabulalides A - E) as the active compounds[].


The seeds contain some 50% oil but how this is utilized is unrecorded[].

The heartwood is pale reddish-brown, yellowish-red to red, darkening to dark yellowish-brown, reddish-brown to medium dark brown on exposure, sharply differentiated from the yellowish-white, pale yellowish-brown, pinkish-brown or greyish-brown sapwood; dark streaks may be rather prominent. The density is 625-800 kg/cubic m at 15% mc. The grain is interlocked and sometimes wavy, producing a rose figure; texture moderately fine but uneven. Freshly cut wood has a fragrant odour, but dried wood has no characteristic odour or taste[, ]. The wood is moderately hard, it is considered non-durable to moderately durable under exposed conditions - the resistance to termite attack varies from good to poor[]. Planed surfaces have a high lustrous satiny sheen[]. The timber is highly prized for high-grade cabinetwork, decorative panelling, interior joinery such as doors, windows and light flooring, and for carving, toys and turnery. It is also used for railway sleepers, ship and boat building, furniture, musical instruments (including pianos), packing cases, sporting goods, lorry bodies, mallet heads, anvil blocks, brush wares, drawing equipment, rifle butts, veneer and pulp. In India, the timber is also used for light to medium-heavy construction work, such as for posts, beams, scantlings and planks[]. The wood peels well and gives exceedingly fine veneer. It is suitable for commercial and moisture proof plywood[].
The wood can also be used as a fuel[].

Propagation

Seed requires no pre-treatment and is sown with overhead shade in light porous soil. Germination is fair: in Malaysia 35% of the seeds sown germinated in 1 - 2.5 weeks, in India 80-90% in 1 - 4 weeks[]. Where seed is plentiful, the best method is broadcast sowing in strips 0.6 m wide and 1.8 m apart. Best results have been obtained by raising seedlings in well-drained boxes and pots before transplanting[]. Seedlings are pricked out and transplanted to the nursery beds when about 1 month old and 6 - 8 cm high[].
Fresh seed retains its viability for a relatively short period, about 3 months[].
Air-layering[].

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