Vitex pinnata L.
EOL Text
Flowering and fruiting: March-May
Vitex pinnata is a tree of the Verbenaceae family, native to south and south east Asia. It is known by a variety of local names, "Milla" in Ceylon,"laban" in Indonesia, "gulimpapa" in Sulawesi, "kyetyo po" in Myanmar, "leban" in Malaysia, "molave" in the Philippines, "tinnok" in Thailand and Bình linh lông in Vietnam. It is a slow growing tree, growing up to 20 metres with 1-3 m. circumference trunk that has a grey-brown-yellow bark; its leaves are scented.
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General Description[edit]
Bark fissured, flaky, pale yellowish grey to brown; inner bark pale yellow becoming green on exposure; sapwood soft yellow to brown. Leaves 3- or 5-foliolate. Leaflets almost sessile, outer two usually much smaller than the others, ovate or elliptic, 3–25 cm long, 1.5–10 cm wide; base rounded to slightly wedge-shaped; apex acuminate; margin entire; secondary veins 10—20 pairs; Inflorescences terminal panicles; Flowers whitish blue. Fruits 5–8 mm in diameter; ripening black [1]
Distribution[edit]
Indo-Malesia covered Borneo; Sabah, Serawak and all provinces of Kalimantan.[2] Indonesia, North to India, Sri Lanka and Cambodia. In the Philippines this species is only known from the islands of Palawan, Culion and Tawi- Tawi [3]
Local Names[edit]
Indonesia: Kalimantan: Laban; Amola, Gagil, Humulawan, Kalapapa, Kulimpapa batu, Kulimpapa simpor, Kulumpapa, Laban daun menjari, Laben, Leban, Pagil. Sumba island: Hiketaroe; Komodo: Pampa; Sumatra: Kopiher (Karo language), Aloban-bátu, Aloban Kardoek or Aloban búnga. Malaysia: Bunyak laban.[4]
Taxonomy[edit]
Vitex pinnata has many depreciated synonyms, including Vitex pubescens and Vitex arborea.[5]
Ecology[edit]
Growing well usually in secondary forests, on riverbanks and along roads including in marginal land such as Imperata cylindrica area,.[6][7] The species seemingly tolerates regular fires. In tropic condition such as in East Kalimantan, flowering and fruiting are almost all the time from January to December. The fruits are eaten by birds and seeds cannot germinate under the shade and need light to germinate[8]
Uses[edit]
Vitex pinnata has a very strong and durable wood, it is durable even in contact with water or soil. It is a grayish brown in color. Density is about 930 kg per cubic metre (58 lbs per cubic foot). Wood is used for posts, door and window frames, sleepers and some furniture.
The wood is used for construction and the manufacture of knife handles. Leaves and bark are used to treat abdominal pain, fever and malaria.
Conservation status[edit]
Least concern.[9]
Propagation[edit]
Vitex pinnata can be propagated by seeds, cuttings and wildlings. One kilogram seeds of Vitex pinnata are around 1100-1200 seeds.[10]
Sources[edit]
- Timber and it uses by forest department Sri Lanka in 1962.
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"Notes: Western Ghats, Dry Deciduous Forests"
Flowering class: Dicot Habit: Tree
"
Global Distribution
Peninsular India and Sri Lanka
Indian distribution
State - Kerala, District/s: Kottayam, Alappuzha, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Thiruvananthapuram
"
"Karnataka: Mysore Kerala: Alapuzha, Kollam, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, Thiruvananthapuram Tamil Nadu: Dindigul, Tirunelveli"
"Trees, to 15 m high, bark thick, white; young shoot grey pubescent; branchlets 4-angled, lenticellata. Leaves 3-foliolate, sometimes 5-foliolate, opposite, estipulate; rachis 35-70 mm, slender, glabrous, grooved above, winged in coppice shoot, flattened; petiolule 7-10 mm, subsessile; lamina 7-16 x 1.8-4.9 cm, elliptic, lanceolate or oblanceolate, base acute, apex acuminate, margin entire or coarsely serrate, yellow gland dotted beneath, chartaceous; lateral nerves 8-22, pinnate, prominent, slender; intercostae reticulate, prominent. Flowers bisexual, cream with yellow palate, in lax axillary panicles of dichasia to 25 cm; calyx 4 mm long, yellow spotted without, 5 toothed; corolla 8 mm across, creamy, throat yellow, pubescent outside, 2-lipped, upper 2 and lower 3 lobed, upper lip 2 mm, acute, lower lip 4 mm, ovate, lateral lobes broadly oblong, subacute, puberulous and glandular; stamens 4, didynamous, exserted; anthers 0.7 mm; ovary 1 mm, superior; style 3 mm, filiform; stigma bifid. Fruit a drupe, 1.3 cm long, obovoid, supported by enlarged calyx; seeds 4."
Habit: Tree
"Banks of streams in moist deciduous forests, also in sacred groves in the plains"