A very polymorphic species, closely related to Dysoxylum excelsum which occurs in the same area but whose parts never have an onion smell[].

Common Name:

General Information

Dysoxylum alliaceum is a tree that can grow up to 38 metres tall. The bole can often be of poor form; it is up to 80cm in diameter, fluted to 4 metres at the base with buttresses up to 60cm tall and projecting 100cm from the trunk[, , ].
The tree is the source of a good quality timber, known as 'jarum-jarum' in southeast Asia, that is harvested from the wild for local use and for trade[]. The tree is also harvested from the wild as a local source of food.
Pressures from expanding human settlements and logging activities are exerted on the species. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[].

Known Hazards

The seeds are poisonous and contain dysoxylum acid[]. (as Dysoxylum euphlebium).
The seed of the tree is used locally as a vertebrate poison[].

Botanical References

,

Range

E, Asia - Andaman Islands, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines to New Guinea, northern Australia, Solomon Islands.

Habitat

A mid-canopy tree in undisturbed mixed dipterocarp forests, growing on hillsides and ridges with sandy soils, but also on limestone; at elevations up to 1,000 metres[]. Commonly occurs along streams and rivers, in lowland and hill forests[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Least Concern
Edibility Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Tree
Height	30.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

The dried flowering specimens have a strong, very disagreeable odour that is characteristic of various parts of many species in the genus[].
All parts of the plant smell strongly of onions[].
We have no specific information for this species, but most members of the genus are dioecious, in which case both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required[].

Edible Uses

Young leaves - boiled[]. The leaves have the scent of onions[]. Fresh young leaves are cooked with fish or other food to impart an onion flavour[].

The seeds in particular are used together with some juice of ginger and lemon or lime, to prepare a sauce very similar to garlic sauce, which is served with fish and other food[]. In the past, dried seeds that were blackened from being dried in smoke, were taken on ships as a garlic substitute[]. Some caution is advised - see notes above on toxicity[].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

The whitish wood is light in weight, not resistant to insects[]. Freshly cut wood emits a fruity odour[]. Another report says that the heartwood is red-brown, the sapwood fawnish[]. It is occasionally made into boards and is used for interior construction[, ]. Used for house building[]. The wood is suitable for medium to heavy construction work, planking, flooring, panelling, and for manufacturing high grade furniture, wood pallets, veneer and plywood[].

We have no more specific information on the wood of this species, but it is one of a group of species that are the source of a commercial timber known in the trade as 'jarum-jarum'. The general description of jarum-jarum is as follows:-
The heartwood is orange-red to brick red when fresh,darkening on exposure; it is clearly demarcated from the yellow sapwood. The texture is moderately coarse but uneven due to the abundant of parenchyma; the grain is straight, interlocked, wavy or irregular; there is a watersilk marking on flat-sawn surfaces due to the parenchyma bands. The wood is moderately hard to hard. It is used for purposes such as flooring, furniture, wall panelling, solid door construction, veneer and plywood[].

Propagation

Seed -

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