Lagerstoemia speciosa (Linn.) Pers.

Transcription

1 THE ADDITIONAL PRINCIPAL CHIEF CONSERVATOR OF FORESTS (RESEARCH, EDUCATION & TRAINING) MAHARASHTRA (PUNE) PRIORITISED PLANTS BROCHURE Lagerstoemia speciosa (Linn.) Pers. (Tamhan, Jarul)

2 Name and taxonomy: Scientific name : Synonym: Family: Common Names: Threat status: Habit: Distribution, habitat and climatic conditions: Uses and Economic returns: Lagerstroemia speciosa (Linn.) Pers. Lagerstroemia flos-reginae Retz. Lythraceae Arjuna, Jarul (Hindi.); Taaman, Tamhani, Jarul (Mar.); Queen s Crepe Myrtle, Pride of India (Eng.) Rare in wild, also in cultivation for ornamental purpose. Lagerstroemia speciosa (Linn.) Pers. is a deciduous or semi-deciduous small to medium-sized or rarely large tree up to 40(45) m tall; bole fairly straight to crooked, branchless for up to 18 m, up to 150 cm in diameter, often fluted and sometimes with small buttresses, bark surface smooth or with small papery flakes, grey to light fawn-brown and mottled, inner bark fibrous, greyfawn to yellow, turning dirty mauve or purple upon exposure; crown usually bushy and spreading. Leaves opposite, distichous, simple, entire; stipules minute or absent. It is found at low to medium altitudes in comparatively open habitats, in disturbed or secondary forests, grasslands, and along rivers. The habitat may vary from well drained to occasionally flood but not peat soil. It is resistant to fire. Common in dry and moist deciduous forests of Maharashtra. The tree has been named as the symbolic Flower tree of state of Maharashtra. The tree used for afforestation of comparatively moist localities. Erosion control: Due to the trees dense and wide spreading root system, it is used in erosion control. Timber: The medium-weight hardwood has a density of kg/cu m at 15 % moisture content. Heartwood pale brown to red-brown, not differentiated

3 from the white or grey-white to yellow-brown, up to 8 cm wide sapwood. Grain straight or slightly interlocked, occasionally conspicuously wavy, texture moderately fine to rather coarse, lustrous. The timber is resistant to termites. Tannin or dyestuff: Bark, fruit (14-17 %) and leaves (12-13 %) contain tannin. Lipids: Seeds yield an oil main constituents of which are linoleic (54.3%), a keto (9-ketooctadec-cis-11- enoic acid, 21.1%), oleic (10.3%), palmitic acid (9.7%) and stearic acid (4.6%). Medicine: A decoction of the bark is used against diarrhoea and abdominal pains. A leaf poultice is used to relief of malarial fever and is applied on cracked feet. A preparation from dried leaves is widely used in to treat diabetes and urinary problems. Poison: Roots, stems and leaves contain hydrocyanic acid. Ornamental: Tree is cultivated for ornamental purposes and as a roadside avenue tree. The tree is used as a support for rattan. Flowering: Flowers in a large, axillary or terminal panicles, often showy, calyx funnel or bell shaped, 6(9) lobed; petals often 6, inserted near the mouth of the calyx tube, white to pink or mauvepurple, clawed, wrinkled; stamens many, in several rows; ovary superior, 3-6 locular with many ovules in each cell; style 1.

4 Seed collection : Collection method: Seed extraction / presowing treatment: Seed storage: Nursery techniques / propagation: Silviculture / Planting techniques: Harvesting / Extraction: Special thing to mention: Fruit a large woody capsule enclosed in the persistent calyx. Seed with an apical wing. Manual collection or hand picking. There are as many as seeds/kg. Seed storage behaviour appears to be orthodox. Viability maintained even after 2 years, hermetic storage at room temperature. Germination increases during the first 3-12 months of storage (Hong et.al, 1996). The tree can be propagated from seeds. Branch and root cuttings also have been used occasionally and tissue culture has been successful on an experimental scale. Seeds should be sown in shade. Germination takes within days. After germination the small seedlings can be picked out and transferred to containers/ polybags. Stumps with a shoot length of 5-10 cm, a root length of cm and a diameter of 5-25 mm have shown % survival. The rooted saplings are planted with onset of the monsoon. The suggested pit size is 60cm x 60cm x 60 cm. Espacement of 2.5 m x 2.5 m is recommended due to poor natural pruning. 15-year-old trees attains a mean annual increment of cm in diameter and m in height. The canopy closes after 6 years and the first thinning is necessary after 8 years. At 15.5 years the clear bole yield in the trial was m cu/ha. It has been proposed to girdle trees 2 years before harvest to allow for easier seasoning. The flower of Lagerstroemia speciosa (Linn.) Pers. is the state flower of Maharashtra. The tree was named by Carl Linnaeus in the 18th century for his plant lover friend the Swedish merchant Mannus von Lagerstrom, who died in It specific name speciosa indicates the special status of the tree while flos-reginae highlights the flower as Queen among the flowers

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