Common Name: Guest Tree

General Information

Kleinhovia hospita is an evergreen, bushy tree, usually growing 6 - 10 metres tall but up to 20 or even 30 metres tall in secondary forest. It has a dense, rounded crown and upright pink sprays of flowers and fruits[, ].
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a source of food, medicine and various commodities[]. Cultivated in India, where it is grown in gardens and as an avenue tree, being valued especially for its attractive pink-coloured panicles[, ].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

E. Asia - southern China, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines to New Guinea, Australia, west Pacific.

Habitat

Abandoned clearings, grassland and secondary forest at elevations up to 200 metres, occasionally to 500 metres[, ]. Hilly or montane forests[].

Properties

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

Cultivation Details

It grows well on acid soils and provides a nutrient-rich mulch[].
Plants flower throughout the year[]. The fruits are more conspicuous than the flowers because of their abundance and size[].
Fruit production starts early, often in the third year after planting[].

Edible Uses

The young leaves and flowers are eaten as a vegetable[, , ].

Medicinal

The crushed leaves are used to treat skin diseases and are rubbed on the forehead in order to relieve a headache[]. The juice from the leaves makes a good eye wash[, ]. The leaves are also used as a hair-was to get rid of lice[].

A preparation from the cambium is used to treat pneumonia[, ]. The scraped bark is mixed with water then filtered and the liquid drunk as a treatment for coughs and tuberculosis[].

The leaves and bark contain cyanogenic compounds that are assumed to help to kill ectoparasites such as lice[].
Extracts of the leaves have shown anti-tumour activity[].
A number of fatty acids with a cyclopropenylic ring (scopoletin, kaempferol, and quercetin) have been isolated from the leaves[].

Agroforestry Uses:

The plant is commonly found in abandoned clearings and secondary forests and is often a vigorous component of secondary forest[]. This suggests its potential as a reforestation species, both in restoring native woodland and also in establishing woodland gardens[].

Other Uses

The fibrous bark is used for rough cordage[, ]. Strips of bark are used to provide temporary cordage for binding garden produce or firewood[].

The pinkish wood is moderately fine in texture, soft, light, easy to season, work, and finish[]. The branches, which are often twisted, are favoured for making ornamental pieces such as knife handles[, ]. Straight branches are used for house rafters or as poles to use as stakes for yams[, ].
The tree provides fuel wood[]. It is considered one of the best firewoods of the western Pacific and is also favoured for making fire by friction[]. The energy value of the wood is about 19 000 kJ/kg[].

Propagation

Seed -
Propagation is by seed. Cuttings are sometimes said to be difficult to root, which is associated with the presence of an uninterrupted sclerenchym band in the pericycle. Other sources report that in the Solomon Islands the bark of the lower part of stakes used in yam plantations is removed to prevent rooting and the development of a shade-producing crown.

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