| DESCRIPTION: It is a deciduous tree reaching 9-15 m in height with a light, spreading crown and somewhat drooping branches. It usually has a short bole, 3-5 m in length, sometimes longer if grown in a fully stocked forest. Bark is very thin, greyish-green, ashy or reddish peeling off in thin, papery flakes. USE: Leaves used as fodder, wood as firewood, charcoal, pulp for paper production and low quality timber. The tree yields a yellowish-green gum-oleoresin used as a diaphoretic and astringent. Used as host for lac insects. Planted for revegetation of poor soils and as an ornamental. GROWING PERIOD: Perennial. In India the flowers appear from February to April, leaves appear in May-June, fruits ripen in May-June, and the leaves fall from December. COMMON NAMES: Indian olibanum tree. FURTHER INF: It can be found in tropical dry deciduous forests and occurs in very dry teak forests or in dry mixed deciduous forests. It is characteristically found on the slopes and ridges of hills, as well as on flat terrain, attaining a larger size on fertile soils. It is resistant to drought and fire. The tree is also frost hardy and serves as a nurse tree for other species. It typically grows on rocky ridges and it does well on neutral soils above gneiss, schist, quartzite, limestone and sandstone. The species has the ability to thrive in the poorest and the shallowest soils where most of its associates remain stunted. Relative humidity should be 40-80% in the winter and 60-90% in the summer. The tree can be found up to 1150 m in elevation. |
SOURCES
Joshi H 1980a pp 120-128 [TEMP, RAIN, DEP, DRA, TEXT, USE, PH, LIG]
ICRAF Agroforestree Database
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