Aglaia silvestris

Aglaia silvestris is a species of plant in the family Meliaceae. It is found in Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. This plant initiated the naming of the Rocaglamide derivatives silvestrol and episilvestrol. In fact they were derived from the fruits and twigs of Aglaia foveolata.

Description

A tree. It grows up to 25-30 m high. The trunk is 30-40 cm across. It can have buttresses. The leaves are compound and alternate. The leaves are large and have leaves along the stalk and one at the end. They are 18-65 cm long. They are covered with pale brown scales. There are 5-19 leaflets. These are 7-24 cm long by 2-7 cm wide. The flowers are in a group in the axils of leaves. The flowers have 5 or 6 petals. They are yellow and 3-5 mm long. The fruit is a round scaly berry. It is yellow or orange. They are about 3 cm long. There are 1 or 2 brown seeds.

Edible Uses

The fruit aril is eaten fresh, the roots are used for soup, and the young leaves and flowers are eaten as a relish with fish.

Traditional Uses

The fruit is eaten. The roots are used for soup. The young leaves and flowers are eaten as a relish with fish.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

The roots are used for soup, suggesting traditional use in food medicine preparations.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows in deep, fertile, wet soils. It grows up to 2,100 m above sea level. It grows in evergreen and mixed deciduous forests usually near streams. It can be on limestone or sandstone bedrock.

Where It Grows

Andamans, Asia, Australia, Cambodia, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Philippines, SE Asia, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Vietnam,

Cultivation

Plants are grown from fresh seed.

Other Uses

The genus 'Aglaia' is the only source of the group of about 50 known representatives of compounds that bear a unique cyclopenta[b]tetrahydrobenzofuran skeleton. These compounds are more commonly called rocaglate or rocaglamide derivatives, or flavaglines, and most have been found to have potent insecticidal properties, antifungal, antiviral, antibacterial or anthelmintic bioactivity. Several of them exhibit pronounced cytotoxic activity against a range of human cancers. Since the first representative in this group was only discovered in 1982, this is one of the few recent examples of a completely new class of plant secondary metabolites of biological promise (see B. G. Wang et al., Biochem. Syst. Ecol. 32: 1223-1226. 2004; L.W. Chaidir et al., J. Nat. Prod. 64: 1216-1220. 2001). The heartwood is a pale yellowish-brown to almost white; the sapwood is a pale reddish-brown. The wood is light in weight, fragrant. It is used for spear shafts, axe handles, boards in houses etc. The buttresses are used in house building.

Production

In Thailand it flowers almost all year round.

Notes

There are about 104 Aglaia species. They occur in Asia and the Pacific.

Synonyms

Also Known As

Chan cha mot, Chan samot

References (7)

• Argent, G et al, nd, Manual of the Larger and More important non Dipterocarp Trees of Central Kalimantan Indonesia. Volume 2 Forest Research Institute, Samarinda, Indonesia. p 412
• Bircher, A. G. & Bircher, W. H., 2000, Encyclopedia of Fruit Trees and Edible Flowering Plants in Egypt and the Subtropics. AUC Press. p 15 (Also as Aglaia baillonii). p 14 (As Aglaia pyramidata)
• Cooper, W. and Cooper, W., 2004, Fruits of the Australian Tropical Rainforest. Nokomis Editions, Victoria, Australia. p 285
• Forest Inventory and Planning Institute, 1996, Vietnam Forest Trees. Agriculture Publishing House p 500
• Phon, P., 2000, Plants used in Cambodia. © Pauline Dy Phon, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. p 15 (As Aglaia pyramidata)

More from Meliaceae

Aglaia forbesii

Aglaia foveolata

Aglaia hiernii

Aglaia ijzermannii

Aglaia laxiflora

Aglaia leucophylla