Tropical Plant Database - Plant Details

Pterocarpus indicus is a large deciduous tree which grows to 30 m high or more. The compound leaves are about 12–22 cm long and made up of 5–13 smaller leaflets. The extremely fragrant flowers grow in inflorescences known as panicles and are bright yellow or yellow-orange in color. They are shaped like small pea flowers with petals known as “banner and keel”. The calyx is about 5–6 mm long and hairy, the corolla is about 16–18 mm long. The disc-like fruits are shaped like flying saucers, and are brown and somewhat hairy, about 4–6.6 cm in diameter. The single seed in the middle is about 1 1/2–3 cm in diameter, and about 6–9 mm thick.

A red, gum-like resin from the bark is used in folk remedies for tumors and to fight cancers, especially of the mouth. Malayans apply the resin to mouth sores, and the root juice to sores from syphilis. Javanese apply the young leaves to boils, prickly heat and ulcers. In the Caroline Islands, finely powdered leaves are applied to a ruptured vagina. The resin was historically combined with opium and used to treat diarrhea. The plant has also been listed as a remedy for bladder ailments, headache, stones, and thrush. Infusions of the wood are fluorescent, and this odd response to light may have been associated with remedies.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angsana)
(Purdue University Center for New Crops and Plants Products www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Pterocarpus_indicus.html)
Lewis, W.H. and Elvin-Lewis, M.P.F. 1977. Medical botany. John Wiley & Sons, New York.
(Pacific Island agroforestry www.agroforestry.net/tti/Pterocarpus-narra.pdf)

The tree is probably best known for its use as a hardwood, which is red, is termite resistant and rose-scented. Wood from the burl of the tree is particularly prized and is used as a veneer, and even for keys on a marimba. The fragrant flowers are used by bees as a honey source, and leaf infusions are used as shampoos. The tree is recommended as an ornamental avenue tree and is sometimes planted in Puerto Rico for as a shade and ornament. It is also a source of resin. In Melanesia it is important for canoes, paddles, and outrigger canoe beds. It is considered a very good boat-building timber due to its durability in seawater, including good resistance to marine borers.

Narra is the national tree of the Philippines, as well as the provincial tree of Chonburi and Phuket in Thailand.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angsana)
(Purdue University Center for New Crops and Plants Products www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Pterocarpus_indicus.html)

Lewis, W.H. and Elvin-Lewis, M.P.F. 1977. Medical botany. John Wiley & Sons, New York.

(Pacific Island agroforestry www.agroforestry.net/tti/Pterocarpus-narra.pdf)

Geographic Distribution: Pterocarpus indicus is widely distributed throughout SE Asia and the Pacific, from Southern Burma to the West to the Solomon Islands in the East, including Sumatra, West Java, Borneo, Philippines, Sunda Islands, the Moluccas, New Guinea, and the Carolines. The tree grows well in most tropical habitats up to 600 m and is widely cultivated as a timber tree and ornamental.

The genus name is derived from the Greek pteron, which means wing, and karpos, which means fruit, referring to the flat, winged pods characteristic of the genus.

(Pacific Island agroforestry www.agroforestry.net/tti/Pterocarpus-narra.pdf)

We currently have 12 herbarium specimens for Pterocarpus indicus in our collection. Click on any specimen below to view the herbarium sheet data.

• 022483 - collected by F. R. Fosberg in 1946
• 091564 - collected by Art Whistler in 1970
• 010423 - collected by W. M. Bush in 1977
• 010421 - collected by Joel Lau in 1985
• 010422 - collected by Tim Flynn in 1986
• 019275 - collected by David H. Lorence in 1994
• 043508 - collected by Michael J. Balick in 2000
• 042678 - collected by Tim Flynn in 2004
• 047564 - collected by David H. Lorence in 2005
• 072613 - collected by David H. Lorence in 2010
• 064478 - collected by J. Beachy in 2011
• 091159 - collected by Sverre Juul Schou in 2022