Burmese Rosewood
Pterocarpus indicus Willd.
Fabaceae
Location in our garden



Overview
Burmese rosewood is native to tropical and temperate Asia and to parts of the Pacific region. It is a tree that produces sweet-scented gregariously yellow flowers with majestic reddish hard wood, a colourful wood ranks among the most valuable woods in the world, making the tree widely harvested for timber. It has been recommended for use in agroforestry systems for being a nitrogen-fixing tree. The tree has been classified as 'Vulnerable' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (1998).
Vernacular Names
Padauk (Burmese), Zi tan (Chinese), Amboine (French), Vengai maram (Tamil-India), Sena (Malay), Narra (Philippines), Praduu baan (Thai).
Agroecology
Burmese rosewood can be found growing from near sea level to 1,300 m above sea level in areas receiving about 900 mm to 4,000 mm of mean annual precipitation and with mean annual temperatures ranging from 22 °C-32 °C. It prefers to grow in open areas, on a well-drained sands, sandy loams and clays, pH ranging from 4-7.4.
Morphology
- Bark - greyish.
- Leaves - compound, pinnate, 15-30 cm long, 7-11 leaflets, ovate to oblong-ovate, 5-10 cm long.
- Flowers - numerous, yellow, fragrant, about 1.5 cm long, on branched, axillary panicles.
- Pods - disc-shaped, legume orbicular, 4-4.5 x 3.5-4.5 cm, shortly stalked, flat, slightly hairy and reticulate opposite seed, 1-seeded, broadly winged around margin, wing to 2 cm wide.
- Seeds - brownish, reniform, narrow and oblique.
Cultivation
- Propagated by seeds, which germinate in 8-100 days.
- Stem cuttings can be taken from trees of any age and size, prefer cuttings of diameter 6 cm or larger.
Chemical Constituents
Leaves: loliolide, paniculata diol, polypeptides acid. Flowers: lupeol and phytol ester. Stems: formononetin, iso liquiritigenin, hydroxy hydra topic acid, and aryl benzofuran
Benefits
Medicinal Uses
- The plant considered antibacterial, anti-bilious, and emetic.
- Studies have shown anti-asthma, immune-enhancing, antifungal, anticancer, antitermite, antiulcer, nephroprotective properties.
- It is taken for its astringent effect in chronic diarrhoea, leucorrhoea, blennorrhoea, and haemorrhages.
Traditional Uses
- The kino obtained from the trunk is sticky, bitter, and oily, is said to be antibilious, emetic, sternutatory, and is used to treat throat ailments, mouth sores, and is a folk remedy for tumours, especially of the mouth.
- The bark is chewed by females with irregular periods in order to induce menstruation. An infusion of the dried bark is used in the treatment of pneumonia. The juice of the fresh bark is applied topically to treat wounds and sores.
- The leaves are reported to significantly inhibit the growth of Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells. The young leaves are applied externally to boils, prickly heat, and ulcers. An infusion of the young leaves is used in the treatment of constipation, stomach pains, fevers, asthma, and mouth ulcers. The fresh leaves are chewed with betel nut in order to ease coughs. The dried leaves are mixed with water and drunk daily as a treatment for headaches. The finely powdered leaves are applied to a ruptured vagina.
- The root juice is used to treat syphilis
Simplisia
- Siapkan daun angsana, cuci bersih dengan air mengalir agar terhindar dari kotoran yang menempel.
- Keringkan daun sampai tercapai kadar air 10%.
- Haluskan dengan menggunakan blender.
- Simpan dalam wadah kedap udara dan steril.
Plant Parts Used




Traditional Recipes

1. 1. Diare dan sariawan
- Ambil 250 g (1 potong) kulit batang angsana dan 2 gelas air.
- Rebus kulit batang hingga tersisa 1 gelas air.
- Minum 1 kali sehari, masing-masing 1 gelas setiap hari hingga sembuh.

2. 2. Bisul
- Remas daun angsana secukupnya dan tempelkan pada bagian tubuh yang terkena bisul.
- Tunggu sampai ramuan tersebut mengering. Ganti ramuan tiap 3 jam sekali.
- Lakukan pengobatan ini sampai bisul mengering dan perlahan mengempes.