Diospyros venosa

Diospyros venosa is a tree in the family Ebenaceae. It is native to Southeast Asia, from the Maluku Islands to Myanmar. It provides raw material for handicrafts, traditional medicine and fuel.

Diospyros venosa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ebenaceae
Genus: Diospyros
Species:
D. venosa
Binomial name
Diospyros venosa
Synonyms[1]
  • Maba venosa (Wall. ex A.DC.) King & Gamble

Description

Diospyros venosa grows as a tree, sometimes a shrub, from 5–20 metres (20–70 ft) tall.[2] Inflorescences bear up to 25 flowers. The fruits are ellipsoid to roundish, up to 2.5 cm (1 in) in diameter.[3]

Taxonomy

The specific epithet venosa is from the Latin meaning "veined", referring to the leaf.[3]

D. venosa has an accepted infraspecific variety, D. venosa var. olivacea.[4]

Within the genus Diospyros, there is the geographically heterogenous clade XI, with sister species from India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia and New Caledonia. D. venosa is a member along with D. ebenum, D. ehretioides, D. fasciculosa, D. maritima, D. pubicalyx, D. styraciformis, and D. wallichii.[5]

Distribution

Diospyros venosa var. venosa is native to the Maluku Islands, Borneo, Java, Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar.[1]

The var. olivacea is endemic to Peninsular Malaysia.[4]

Habitat

Its habitat is lowland mixed dipterocarp forests, though it occurs up to 1300m elevation.[3] In the Guning Aias Forest Reserve, Pahang, Malaysia, the Lowland dipterocarp forest has a 30-40m tall canopy of trees in the Anacardiaceae, Dipterocarpaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Sapotaceae, and Sterculiaceae families.[6] Amongst the understorey plants is D. venosa var. venosa. Within the Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve, Selangor, D. venosa grows as a tree to 10m height, throughout the reserves from the Lowland dipterocarp forest to the lower montane forest at 1300m.[7] The tree/shrub was one of the characteristic plants in the upper elevations (375-450m) ridge and slope community within the Seraya-ridge forest of the Semangkok Forest Reserve, Selangor, Malaysia.[8] The seraya-ridge forest is a subtype of Hill dipterocarp forest, characterised by the dipterocarp Shorea curtisii and the palm Eugeissona tristis, the most common type of hill forest in Peninsular Malaysia.

Vernacular Names

In Malaysia it is known as kayu arang (a general name for Diospyros species).[7] In the Khmer language, angɔt kmao[9] and ângkât' khmau slëk thôm[2] refer to the plant.

Uses

Twigs from the plant are used as firewood. The ebony-like wood is used to make luxury knick-knacks. The roots are used in a traditional medicine decoction as a sedative, as well as a component of a tonic.[2] Villagers living on the plateau of Phnom Kulen National Park, in Svay Leu District, Siem Reap Province, northwestern Cambodia, use the root and wood chips of the shrub in their traditional medicinal practices to improve post-partum care and circulation, to treat malaria, and to treat sexually transmitted diseases in women.[9]

References
  1. "Diospyros venosa Wall. ex A.DC". Plants of the World Online (POWO). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Science. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  2. Pauline Dy Phon (2000). Plants Utilised In Cambodia/Plantes utilisées au Cambodge. Phnom Penh: Imprimerie Olympic. pp. 14, 15.
  3. Ng, Francis S.P. (April 2002). "Diospyros venosa Wall. ex A.DC.". In Soepadmo, E.; Saw, L. G.; Chung, R. C. K. (eds.). Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak. (free online from the publisher, lesser resolution scan PDF versions). Vol. 4. Forest Research Institute Malaysia. pp. 98–99. ISBN 983-2181-27-5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  4. "Diospyros venosa var. olivacea (King & Gamble) Ng". Plants of the World Online (POWO). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Science. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  5. Duangjai, Sutee; Samuel, Rosabelle; Munzinger, Jérôme; Forest, Félix; Wallnöfer, Bruno; Barfuss, Michael H.J.; Fischer, Gunter; Chase, Mark W. (2009). "A multi-locus plastid phylogenetic analysis of the pantropical genus Diospyros (Ebenaceae), with an emphasis on the radiation and biogeographic origins of the New Caledonian endemic species" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 52 (3): 602–620. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2009.04.021. PMID 19427384. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  6. Chua, L.S.L.; et al. (2006). "A checklist of seed plants at Gunung Aias Forest Reserve, Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia". Malayan Nature Journal. 59 (2): 121–52. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  7. Faridah Hanum, I.; Ibrahim, A. Z.; Shamsul Khamis; Nazre, M.; Lepun, P.; Rusea, G.; Lajuni, J. J.; Latiff, A. (2001). "An Annotated Checklist of Higher Plants in Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve, Puchong, Selangor" (PDF). Pertanika J. Trop. Agric. Sci. Universiti Putra Malaysia Press. 24 (1): 63–78. ISSN 1511-3701. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  8. Kassim, Abd. Rahman (2002). "Species assembly and site preference of tree species in a primary Seraya-ridge forest of Peninsular Malaysia". Journal of Tropical Forest Science. 14 (3): 287–303. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  9. Walker, Taylor J. (26 April 2017). An examination of medicinal ethnobotany and biomedicine use in two villages on the Phnom Kulen plateau (Report). Roanoke, United States: Undergraduate Research Awards, Hollins University. Retrieved 27 April 2020.


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