Heterophragma sulfureum explained

Haplophragma sulfureum is a tree in the Bignoniaceae family, found in four countries of Southeast Asia. The pods are used as tinder, while the wood is used for light construction and traditional medicine.

Description

The species grows as a 8 to 20m tall tree. It possesses long "sword-shaped" seed pods. Diameter of the trunk measured at the standard breast height is 10.4 cm for a 6.6m tall specimen.^[1] The root system grows some 60 to 70 cm deep. The wood density is some 5.21g cm⁻³.

The wood anatomy of the tree is consistent with the variety of traits in the Bignoniaceae.^[2] In Heterophragma sulfureum the following traits are present: diffuse solitary vessels; parenchyma marking growth rings; simple perforation plates; scanty paratracheal axial parenchyma; parenchyma are 3-4 cells per strand, 2-4-seriate short rays (<1mm), homo-heterocellular with 1 row of upright marginal cells; the vessel-ray pitting is similar to intervessel pits; septate fibres are present; crystals are present in rays.

Distribution

The species is found in the following countries of Southeast Asia: Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar.

Habitat

The plant grows within dry deciduous forests, in undergrowth and in savannahs. In the dry deciduous forests of central Cambodia, it is found in the subcanopy.^[3]

Ecology

Newinia heterophragmae, a rust fungus in the Phakopsoraceae family is found on the Heterophragma sulfureum in Myanmar.^[4]

Vernacular names

Rungrang is a local name used in Thailand.^[5] In Cambodia the tree is known as srâom daw krâpë (="crocodile scabbard") or srâ âm, Khmer.^[6]

Uses

The long seed-pods are dried and de-seeded before being used as tinder for fire-lighting in Cambodia, and the wood is used to build huts.^[6]

The traditional healers gathering plants in the Polsongkram Community Forest, Non Sung District, eastern Thailand, boil the heartwood in water to produce a treatment for diabetes.^[5]

History

The species was first described by the German-born botanist, Wilhelm Sulpiz Kurz, (1834-1878).^[7] His working life including being director of the Botanical Gardens at Bogor, Jawa, and curator of the Herbarium at then Calcutta, India. He published the description in an 1873 issue of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.

Further reading

Additional information can be found in the following:

• Chatterjee, D. (1948). A review of Bignoniaceae of India and Burma Bulletin of the Botanical Society of Bengal 2: 62–79.
• Clarke, C.B. in Hooker, J.D. (1885 publ. 1884). Bignoniaceae Flora of British India 4: 376–387.
• Dy Phon, P. (2000). Dictionnaire des plantes utilisées au Cambodge: 1–915. Chez l'auteur, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
• Santisuk, T. (1987). Bignoniaceae Flora of Thailand 5(1): 32–66. The Forest Herbarium, National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, Bangkok.
• Santisuk, T. & Vidal, J.E. (1985). Bignoniacées Flore du Cambodge du Laos et du Viêt-Nam 22: 1-72. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris.

Notes and References

1. Monda . Yukako . with 10 others . Allometric equations for tropical seasonal deciduous forest in Cambodia: A method of estimating belowground tree biomass with reduced sampling loss of roots . JARQ . 2016 . 50 . 4 . 369–77 . 10.6090/jarq.50.369 . 22 January 2021. free .
2. Pace . Marcelo R. . Angyalossy . Veronica . Wood Anatomy and Evolution: A Case Study in the Bignoniaceae . International Journal of Plant Sciences . 2013 . 174 . 7 . 1014–1048 . 10.1086/670258 . 84203554 . 22 January 2021.
3. Kenzo . Tanaka . Sano . Makoto . Yoneda . Reiji . Chann . Sophal . Comparison of wood density and water content between dry evergreen and dry deciduous forest trees in central Cambodia . JARQ . 2017 . 51 . 4 . 363–74 . 10.6090/jarq.51.363 . 22 January 2021. free .
4. Kakishima . Makoto . Lohsomboon . Pongvipa . with three others . Newinia thaiana, a new rust fungus from Thailand . Mycologia . 1988 . 80 . 3 . 397–400 . 10.1080/00275514.1988.12025555 . 22 January 2021. subscription .
5. Rattanapotanan . Natenapa . Plant diversity and utilization of medicinal plants by traditional healers . Naresuan University Journal: Science and Technology . 2019 . 27 . 1 . 55–64 . 22 January 2021.
6. Book: Pauline Dy Phon . Plants Utilised In Cambodia/Plantes utilisées au Cambodge . 2000 . Imprimerie Olympic . Phnom Penh . 14, 15 . Pauline Dy Phon .
7. Web site: Heterophragma sulfureum. Kurz, J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Pt. 2, Nat. Hist. 42(2): 90 (1873) . International Plant Name Index (IPNI) . The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . 22 January 2021.