Rank Species | Genus Acronychia Higher classification Acronychia | |
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Similar Acronychia, Rutaceae, Glycosmis, Dalbergia, Dalbergia odorifera | ||
Acronychia pedunculata is a large shrub or small tree of the understory, gaps and fringes of low country and lower hill tropical forests of tropical Asia. Leaves: elliptic to subolong, often with tapered base. Twigs more or less angular, glabrous. Flowers: greenish white; I-acillary, corymbose panicles, about 14mm across in inflorescences of 4 to 24 cm (9 in) wide. Flowering: February-April, July-August. The fruits are cream to brownish yellow drupes, slightly angled, 0.5 to 1.5 cm (1 in) in diameter with a short apiculate tip. Leaves and fruits, and other parts of the plant, contain aromatic oils with a resinous scent. In Sri Lanka the flowering time is February-April and July-August.
Contents
Distribution
South and Southeast Asia from India & Sri Lanka to South China & Taiwan and Indonesia & Papua New Guinea.
Local names
Sinhala: Ankenda (අංකෙන්ද). Chinese: Jiangzhenxiang (降真香). Nepali: Paolay. Assamese: Laojan. Tamil & Malayalam: Mutta-nari.
Uses
Extracts of its leaves, bark, stems and fruits are widely used in herbal medicinal applications against sores, scabies and intestinal infections, due to their antifungal and antimicrobial properties. Contains aromatic, essential oils, which are used in China for making perfumes. The ripe fruit is edible and has a sweet acidic flavour. Unripe fruits have a strongly astringent, resinous taste. The roots are used as a fish-poison in southern Vietnam. In India the wood is used for carving, poles, house construction and making the charcoal preferred by goldsmiths. And the tender leaves are used in salads and as a condiment.
Its wood, called lakawood (a term covering a few different plants), is also used in incense production. It is particularly favoured by Taoist practitioners who are forbidden from using sandalwood.
