Celtis timorensis
| Celtis timorensis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leaves of Celtis timorensis | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Cannabaceae |
| Genus: | Celtis |
| Species: | C. timorensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Celtis timorensis Span.[1] | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Celtis timorensis, commonly known as Stinkwood or Stinking Wood is a species of flowering plant in the Cannabaceae family. The specific epithet comes from the name of the island of Timor, the locality of the type collection.[3] In Sri Lanka, it is known as "ගුරෙන්ද - gurenda", where whole plant is an important medicine.
Description
Celtis timorensis is a large forest tree growing to 25 m in height. The wood has a strong foetid smell, because of the presence of skatole. The oblate to oblong, strongly 3-veined leaves are 50–130 mm in length. Although the tree resembles Cinnamomum iners in its 3-veined leaves, it can easily be distinguished by its serrated leaf margins. The seed, protected by the 7–11 mm long fruit’s hard and durable endocarp, is dispersed by water.[3]
Flowers - Inflorescence - male greenish, short racemose cymes; female more slender axillary or terminal cymes.
Fruits - beaked, pear-shaped frupe.
Distribution and habitat
The tree is found across the southern and south-eastern Asian regions, from India and Sri Lanka, through Indo-China, southern China and Malesia to the Philippines. It occurs on Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the north-eastern Indian Ocean, where it forms about 1% of the primary rainforest canopy.[3]
References
Notes
Sources
- Spanoghe, J.B. (1841). Linnaea 15: 343–344. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - "Celtis timorensis Span.". Flora of Australia Online. Australian Biological Resources Study. 1993. Retrieved 2010-12-02.