Terminalia elliptica

Terminalia elliptica
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Combretaceae
Genus: Terminalia
Species:
T. elliptica
Binomial name
Terminalia elliptica
Synonyms[1]
List
    • Pentaptera coriacea Roxb.
    • Pentaptera crenulata (Roth) DC.
    • Pentaptera cuneata DC.
    • Pentaptera macrocarpa Wall.
    • Pentaptera maradu G.Don
    • Pentaptera tomentosa Roxb. ex DC.
    • Terminalia alata Roth
    • Terminalia arjuna var. angustifolia C.B.Clarke
    • Terminalia coriacea (Roxb.) Wight & Arn.
    • Terminalia coriacea Spreng.
    • Terminalia crenulata Roth
    • Terminalia macrocarpa Steud. ex Kurz
    • Terminalia ovata Rottler ex C.B.Clarke
    • Terminalia ovata var. angustifolia (Clarke) S.Yadav & M.R.Almeida
    • Terminalia tomentosa Wight & Arn.

Terminalia elliptica (sin. Terminalia tormentosa) is a species of Terminalia native to southern and southeast Asia in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.[2][3] It is a prominent part of both dry and moist deciduous forests in southern India up to 1000 m.

Common names are asna; saj or saaj; Indian laurel; marutham (Tamil); matti (Kannada); ain (Marathi); taukkyan (Burma); sadar, matti or marda (India); asana (Sri Lanka); and casually crocodile bark due to the characteristic bark pattern.

It is a tree growing to 30 m tall, with a trunk diameter of 1 m. The fruit is ovoid, 3 cm long, with five wings not extending beyond the fruit apex.[4] The bark is fire-resistant. The wood is coarse, fairly straight grained, dull to somewhat lustrous and without any smell or taste. The hardwood varies from light brown with few markings to dark brown or brownish black and figured with darker streaks. The sapwood is reddish white and sharply differentiated. The heartwood is moderately durable and the sapwood is liable to powder-post beetle attack.[5]

Terminalia tomentosa has a remarkable attribute: some members of the species store water in the dry season. A survey conducted at Bandipur National Park, India showed that a proportion of trees store water and there is a girth dependent increase in the frequency and amount of water storage. The mechanism and ecophysiological significance of this water storage is not known.[6]

Water storage in T. elliptica
  1. ^ "Terminalia elliptica Willd". Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  2. ^ "Terminalia elliptica". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  3. ^ Sal and Saaj Deforestation in West Nepal: "Terminalia Tomentosa"
  4. ^ Flora of China: Terminalia
  5. ^ Wood Technical Fact Sheet: Terminalia tomentosa complex Archived 2007-03-17 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Current Science, "Water Storage in Terminalia tomentosa"