Common Name:

General Information

Homalanthus populneus is a much-branched, evergreen tree with a flattish but spreading crown; it can grow up to 12 metres tall. The crooked to straight bole is up to 18cm in diameter, free of buttresses[, ].
The tree is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and source of wood and a dye. It has the potential to be used as a pioneer species for restoring native woodland.

Known Hazards

The watery latex is poisonous[].
The leaves are reported to be poisonous[]. The pounded leaves, mixed with ashes and pepper, are sprayed in rivers to act as a fish poison[].

Botanical References

Range

Southeast Asia - Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines

Habitat

Characteristic of recently cleared areas; very open to old and shady secondary forest; light thicket; edges of lowland rainforest; roadsides; clearings; steep slopes; by rivers; open rocky stream beds; scrub land etc; at elevations to 3,000 metres[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	8.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Found in the wild on soils over granitic or sandstone rock, limestone rubble, shallow soil on rock with sulphur, ultramafic soil, silt clay, yellowish brown sandy loam, white sand, deep humus layer over clay, peaty soil, rusty red soil with concretions of iron, fertile compact soil[].
Plants can flower and produce fruit all year round[].
Ants' nests are commonly observed in the upper branches of the tree[].

Edible Uses

The leaves are used for wrapping taro when cooking[].

Medicinal

The roots and leaves are used as a medicine, e.g. against fever[].
The leaves are used in the treatment of diarrhoea[].
The leaves are dried on the fire and are used after birth by putting them on the stomach, or the heated leaves are applied to the abdomen as a treatment for fever[].
The terminal buds of about 1 metre high plants are reported to be eaten by women in order to induce abortion[].

The fruit is used for treating wounds[, ].

The leaves are given to cattle as a vermifuge, but are reported to be poisonous[].

Agroforestry Uses:

A characteristic plant of recently cleared areas, this species is a natural pioneer bringing tree cover back to the land and restoring conditions for the native rainforest community. It can be used as a pioneer species in reforesting the land or to establish a woodland garden[]. It is sometimes planted, but is suitable for afforestation only on better soils[].

Other Uses

The bark and leaves are used as a black dye for dyeing rattan, matting, pandan handicrafts and cotton cloth[]. The rattan, matting and pandan are often buried in mud before or after being soaked in a boiled infusion of the bark and leaves[]. The bark and the leaves are, in connection with a certain kind of mud, used for dying clothes blackish[].

The white wood is soft and not durable[]. It is without taste and usually odourless, though there can be a slight disagreeable odour[]. It is sometimes used for interior construction in houses[]. The wood characteristics are favourable for the production of pulp and paper[].
The wood is of low value and perishes quickly, but is a good firewood[].

Propagation

Seed -

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