Common Name: Yellow Cheesewood

General Information

Yellow cheesewood varies in size from a medium-sized to a tall, well formed, evergreen tree up to 30 metres tall[]. The straight, cylindrical bole is unbuttressed, it can be unbranched for up to 20 metres and has a diameter of up to 1 metre[, ].
The tree is valued mainly for its wood, which is traded commercially. It is also harvested from the wild for its edible fruit and for local medicinal use. The tree is cultivated in Sri Lanka for medicinal use[]. Yellow cheesewood is a beautiful tropical garden plant and excellent shade tree[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

E. Asia - Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines to Australia.

Habitat

Occurs in a variety of vegetation types from sparse rheophyte shrublands to tall well-developed gallery rainforest where it reaches its best development[]. Occurs along the major rivers in the interior of the Peninsula, or at least near rivers[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	20.00 m
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the moist tropical lowlands, where it is found at elevations from sea level to 500 metres[]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 30 - 40°c, but can tolerate 15 - 45°c[]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,000 - 3,500mm, but tolerates 800 - 3,800mm[].
Succeeds in most soils, though it prefers alluvial soils along stream banks[, ]. Best grown in medium loam, clay loam and always preferring semi-shaded conditions[]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, tolerating 5 - 7.5[]. Plants can tolerate seasonal inundation of the soil[].

Edible Uses

Fruit[]. A bitter flavour[]. It is eaten by the Aboriginal people of Australia[].

Young leaves and tender shoot tips - steamed and eaten with rice[].

Medicinal

The leaves and bark are used medicinally against abdominal pain, animal bites and wounds[].

The leaves are applied externally to boils and tumours[].

A bark decoction is used for the treatment of diarrhoea and toothaches[].

Studies have shown that the bark has moderate in vitro activity against the malaria-causing Plasmodium falcifarum[].
Four new alkaloids, nauclealines A and B and naucleosides A and B, together with six known compounds were isolated from the bark of Nauclea orientalis[].

Agroforestry Uses:

The tree is planted to control soil loss on riverine areas[].
A hardy, pioneer species with dryland reclamation potential, it is also an excellent shade tree[].
The leaf litter, as it decays replenishes soil fertility[].

Other Uses

The wood was shown to be toxic to the termite Cryptotermes domesticus under laboratory conditions[].

The heartwood is yellowish or orange, it is soft and easily cut but not durable when exposed to the weather[]. The wood can be used for framing and internal flooring and other uses not exposing it to the weather[303. Easily carved, it can be used for novelties where a timber with distinctive colour is desirable[].

Propagation

Seed - propagation is commonly done by direct seeding and results are best in summer[].

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