Common Name: Weaver's Beam Tree

General Information

Schrebera swietenioides is a deciduous tree with a large, dense crown; it can grow up to 20 metres tall[, ].
The plant is hightly valued for its wood, which is much used locally but rarely traded. It is also harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine, and is sometimes cultivated as an ornamental in gardens.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

E. Asia - India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos

Habitat

Dry forests[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Tree
Height	12.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

The flowers become very fragrant overnight, when they are pollinated by moths[].

Edible Uses

Leaves - cooked. Boiled and eaten with salt and chili peppers. A famine food, eaten in times of need when there is little else available.

Medicinal

The plant has a long history of being used to treat various diseases. The roots, bark and leaves are bitter, acrid, appetising, digestive, thermogenic, stomachic, depurative, constipating urinary astringent and anthelmintic[]. They are useful in treating a range of conditions including indigestion, skin diseases, leprosy, anaemia, boils and burns and rectal disorders[].

The bark is used to treat diseases of the throat, anaemia, bleeding piles and diabetes[].

The fruits are reported to be useful in curing hydrocele[].

The roots are used in the treatment of leprosy[].

Scientific investigations have proved the anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic activities of the root and antidiabetic and antioxidant effect of the fruit[].

The root bark contains some bioactive agents that are powerful antioxidants, which prevent or repair the damage done to the cells by free radicals or highly reactive oxygen species. A significant observation was that the content of polyphenols, flavonoids and tannins was much higher in the root bark compared to the leaves and stem bark. The anti-anaemic property of the plant may be attributed to the presence of the above-mentioned bioactives as they are known to exert anti-oxidant activity as reported in the literature. From our study, it can be established that the anti-anaemic potential of the root bark can be explored for further research in developing a novel herbal delivery system[].
The collective data of this study revealed that root bark has considerable anti-anaemic activity, indicating the use of this plant for the treatment of anaemia[].

Other Uses

The heartwood is of a brownish grey colour; it is not clearly demarcated from the sapwood. It is very close-grained, heavy, hard and durable. It is reckoned less subject to crack or warp than any other wood. It is used by weavers in many parts of their looms, particularly for the beam: it is also used in turnery and serves also for a great variety of other uses[, , ].
I am inclined to think it would answer well for scales to mathematical instruments. It is not so handsome as box, but is not subject to warp[]..

Propagation

Seed - sow with the wings pointing upwards in a containers in a lightly shaded position. Stored seed usually germinates within 4 weeks. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant out when large enough[].

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