SEED LEAFLET

No. 37 September 2000

Pterocarpus indicus Willd.

Taxonomy and nomenclature The Vietnam population has been extinct for some
Family: Fabaceae (Papilionoideae) 300 years. An extensive forest survey in Sri Lanka has
Synonyms : Pterocarpus wallichii Wight & Arn; P. failed to find the species and information on popula-
zollingeri Miq.; P. papuanus F.v.Mueller, P. vidalinus tions in India, Indonesia and the Philippines indicates
Rolfe. that the species is seriously threatened. Exploitation of
Vernacular/common names: red sandalwood, Malay the few known stands in Peninsular Malaysia may
paduak (Eng.); amboine, santal rouge (Fr.); have caused its extinction there and what are believed
sonokembang (Indonesia); angsang, sena (Malaysia and to be the largest remaining populations, in New Guinea,
Singapore); pradoo (Thai.); narra, amboyna, rosewood, are being heavily exploited.
Burmese rosewood (trade names).
In the Philippines the names prickly narra and Uses
smooth narra are used for forma echinatus and forma All species of Pterocarpus produce highly valued
indicus respectively. timber. The timber of P. indicus is moderately hard
and is used for fine furniture, flooring, cabinet work
Two forms are recognized, P. indicus forma echinatus and musical instruments. It is nitrogen-fixing and rec-
(Pers.) Rojo, and P. indicus forma indicus. ommended for use in agroforestry systems and as a
shade tree for coffee and other crops.

Botanical description
Usually deciduous tree, up to 30-40 m tall. Bole up to
2 m in diameter, usually of poor form, short, twisted
and deeply fluted, often with pronounced buttresses.
The wood exudes a dark red sap called ‘kino’ or
‘dragon’s blood’. Leaves compound with 5-11 alter-
nate, glabrous leaflets. Flowers in 6-13 cm long ter-
minal or axillary panicles. Flowers bisexual, bright
yellow and fragrant.

Fruit and seed description

Fruit: a modified indehiscent pod with large wing
1. Tree habit; 2. flowering twig; 3. pod. From: Plant (i.e. samara). It is circular, light brown, 4-6 cm diam-
Resources of South-East Asia No. 5:1 eter, with a 1-2.5 cm broad wing surrounding the 2-3
cm diameter, 5-8 mm thick central seed case. The sur-
Distribution and habitat face structure of the central seed case varies from
Natural distribution in SE Asia - Pacific, from south- smooth in forma indicus to densely covered with bris-
ern Burma through SE Asia to the Philippines and tles in forma echinatus. Intermediate forms can be
other Pacific islands. Introduced into cultivation found. There are 1-2 seeds/ fruit.
widely in the tropics. A widespread tree found in low- Seed: 6-8 mm long, bean-shaped with brown papery
land primary and some secondary forest, mainly testa.
along tidal creeks and rocky shores. It is a pioneer
species that performs best in the open. Grows on a Flowering and fruiting habit
variety of soil types from fertile farm soil to rocky Flowers often appear before the new leaves but flow-
soil. Normally found up to 600 m altitude but seems ering continues after leaf flushing. During the flower-
to thrive up to 1300 m. Frequently grown as ornamen- ing period, flowering takes place in several short
tal in parks and along roads. bursts each of only 1 days’ duration. Flower opening
Populations have declined because of over- is triggered by water, and individual flower bursts
exploitation, sometimes illegal exploitation of the narra normally occur the day after a heavy rain. Pollination
timber as well as from increasing general habitat loss. by bees and other insects. Usually only 1-3 flowers

Danida Forest Seed Centre

from an inflorescence develop into fruits. Most trees Dormancy and pretreatment
flower and fruit every year but there are always some The seeds are not dormant and need no pretreatment
trees in a population with no or very limited flowering. but the pericarp poses a physical restraint to germina-
Fruit development takes 3-4 months. Although tion. Extracted seeds are susceptible to damage as
flowering is extended over a long season in tropical they have only very thin seed coat and should prefer-
areas, fruit maturity occurs remarkably simultaneous. ably be sown immediately after extraction.
Since fruits are persistent on the tree for some time
after maturity, collection time is not very critical. Sowing and germination
However, strong wind may release and displace many Seeds can be sown directly in pots or in germination
fruits after maturation. Insect attack can also be a beds and transferred to pots after about one month.
problem in some populations. Germination is epigeal. Germination percentage is
low for non-extracted seeds because of the physical
Harvest restraints of the pericarp and because many fruits are
Fruits can be collected from the ground after natural empty. A cutting test of a representative sample can
fall, or after shaking or pruning low fruit bearing show how many seeds per fruit can be expected. It
branches. Collection from taller trees normally in- can take as much as three months before germination
volves climbing; the fruits may be released by shak- is complete.
ing individual branches. Climbing is often made dif- Because of the slow germination rate vegetative
ficult by the presence of aggressive ants. propagation is often used. Propagation by cuttings is
the preferred method especially for ornamental
Processing and handling planting. The species is unique in the sense that the
If seeds are to be extracted manually, the fruits should capacity for rooting of stem cuttings is not lost with
not be dewinged before as it is difficult to orient one- age. Actually, cuttings of 6 cm or more in diameter
self with dewinged fruits. However, dewinging may will root better than cuttings of a smaller diameter
be necessary to reduce bulk. Removal of wings and and young leaf-bearing stems will not root at all.
bristles can be done by hammer mills or brushing
machines with hard brushes. The dewinged fruits can Phytosanitary problems
then be stored until sowing. The fungus Promopsis can infect seeds. Other fungi
Seed extraction should not be done until shortly can cause root and stem disease of young seedlings.
before sowing since extraction often implies damage
to seed which may interfere with their storability. The Selected readings
extraction is done manually with secateurs although Ng, F.S.P., 1992. Pterocarpus indicus - the majestic N-fix-
it is a very slow process. The seed case in the middle ing tree. NFT Highlights, No. 92-02. FACT Net, Winrock
of the fruit is cut at the opposite end of the seeds’ International.
radicles. This can only be seen on the entire fruit. The Soerianegara, I. and Lemmens, R.H.M.J. (eds.), 1993.
radicle end of the seed(s) is always pointing towards Plant Resources of South-East Asia No. 5(1). Timber trees:
the small angle between the pedicel and the pod apex. major commercial timbers. Wageningen, Netherlands:
Pudoc Scientific Publishers.
Storage and viability Troup, R.S., 1921. The Silviculture of Indian Trees, vol 1.
Seeds are orthodox and can be stored at low tem- WCMC, 2000. The World List of Threatened Trees. World
perature and moisture content for several years. Conservation Monitoring Centre
Fruits that have been dewinged before storage are
less prone to regain moisture and harbour fungi. Ex- THIS NOTE WAS PREPARED BY
tracted seeds can be stored, preferably in CO2, but if DANIDA FOREST SEED CENTRE
they are damaged during manual extraction, it can re-
duce their storability. Author: Dorthe Jøker

Danida Forest Seed Centre Phone: +45-49190500

Krogerupvej 21 Fax: +45-49160258
DK-3050 Humlebaek Email: dfsc@sns.dk
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