Parkia timoriana
Content
Description
Tree to 50 m high, 2.5 m in diameter.
Leaves alternate, primary rachis including petiole 18-42 cm long.
Flowers bisexual.
Seeds c. 12-19 per pod, elliptical in outline, lying horizontally across width of pod, c. 1.4-2 cm long;
Distribution
Asia-Tropical: Bangladesh (Bangladesh present); Borneo present; Jawa (Jawa present); Lesser Sunda Is. present; Malaya (Peninsular Malaysia present); Maluku (Maluku present); New Guinea present (Irian Jaya present); Philippines (Philippines present); Sulawesi (Sulawesi present); Sumatera (Sumatera present); Thailand (Thailand present), Burma present, Luzon present, NE India present, Palawan present, Timor present, W Sumbawa present
NE India, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand; in Malesia: Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, Java, Philippines (Palawan, Luzon), Celebes, Lesser Sunda Islands (W Sumbawa, Timor), Moluccas, New Guinea (Irian Jaya). Cultivated. — .
Uses
Seeds, bark and sometimes leaves are reported as having medicinal uses (Burkill, Heyne, Hi schhorn, Perry, 11.cc.). The bark is used against scabies, boils, and abscesses, and the pods, pounded with water, are used as a hair shampoo. Ripe seeds, roasted and powdered, can be ingested as a medicine for colic, flatulence and stomach ache, or used in remedies for cholera or menstrual cramps. Powdered seeds are applied externally to wi unds, ulcers, and the abdomen for pain. Leaves m y also be ground up as an ingredient in a retried / for colic. The seeds may be eaten as a substitute tor those of P. speciosa after roasting, or when young, but they have a bitter flavour. Germinated seeds are consumed in Thailand (Nielsen & Santisuk, l.c.).
Notes
1. Some early references confused this A tan species with P. biglobosa (syn. P. africana) frc m West Africa. It has also occasionally been confused with P. speciosa, with which it probably hybridizes (see P. intermedia, under uncertain species). Its flowers can often be distinguished from those of P. speciosa by the lack of pubescence on thi s outer side of the corolla lobes in some specimens. In dried material, its leaflets differ from those of P. speciosa by not curling inwards in the middle.
2. It is the most widespread Asian species, and the only one that occurs on both sides of Wallace's Line.
3. Nielsen (1980) discusses the validity of the name Parkia javanica (Lam.) Merr., by which this species is well known in Malaysia. He concludes that the name is uncertain, a decision with which I concur.
4. While there has been general consensus that material from NE India and Bangladesh is conspe- cilic with that from Malesia, and leaflet shape is similar, the pods from NE Indian and Bangladeshy specimens may be somewhat corrugated over the seeds.
2. It is the most widespread Asian species, and the only one that occurs on both sides of Wallace's Line.
3. Nielsen (1980) discusses the validity of the name Parkia javanica (Lam.) Merr., by which this species is well known in Malaysia. He concludes that the name is uncertain, a decision with which I concur.
4. While there has been general consensus that material from NE India and Bangladesh is conspe- cilic with that from Malesia, and leaflet shape is similar, the pods from NE Indian and Bangladeshy specimens may be somewhat corrugated over the seeds.
Citation
Heyne 1927: Nutt. Pl. Ned. Ind., ed. 2: 724
Blanco 1897 – In: Fl. Filip., ed. 3: 139
Cockb. 1976: p. 191. – In: Trees Sabah: f. 42
Nielsen & Santisuk 1985 – In: Fl. Thailand: 138
Koord. & Val. 1894 – In: Bijdr.: 276
Hassk. 1848: Pl. Jav. Rar.: 415
J. Str. Br. Roy. As. Soc. 1921 – In: Special no.: 295
Burkill 1966: Diet., ed. 2: 1698
Blanco 1845: Fl. Filip., ed. 2: 509
Corner 1988: Wayside Trees, ed. 3: 458
auct. vix (Lam.) Merr.: Merr. 1923 – In: Enum. Philipp. Fl. Pl.: 253
Backer & Bakh. f. 1963 – In: Fl. Java: 564
Perry 1980: Medic. Pl. E & SE Asia: 221
Miq. 1861: Fl. Ind. Bat.: 283
Whitm. 1972: p. 281. – In: Tree Fl. Malaya: f. 13
Corner 1940 – In: Wayside Trees: 415
Hassk. 1844: Cat. Pl. Hort. Bog. Cult.: 289
Hirschhorn 1983 – In: I. Ethnopharm.: 86
Nielsen 1980 – In: Adansonia: 340