Pterocarpus indicus Willd., Fabaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Evaluate, score: 4 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: zi tan

English: Amboyna wood, Andaman redwood, angsana, Burmese rosewood, Malay padauk, narra, Papua New Guinea rosewood, Philippine mahogany

Fijian: padouk

Palauan: las

Yapese: arau

Habit:  tree

Description: 

Genus:  "Trees, the stipules small or rarely foliaceous; leaves alternate, imparipinnate (very rarely unifoliolate), estipellate, the leaflets alternate to subopposite, the blades often minutely glandular beneath; inflorescences axillary or terminal, racemose or paniculate, the bracts and bracteoles small, caducous; calyx turbinate to campanulate, shortly 5-lobed, the upper 2 lobes connate; petals 5, clawed, the standard usually suborbicular and with a well-developed claw, the wings obliquely obovate to spathulate, the keel petals usually shorter than wings, connate on lower side; stamens 10 (-11), the filaments all connate into a sheath split above and sometimes below, the vexillary filament sometimes free, the anthers dorsifixed, versatile, longitudinally dehiscent; ovary sessile or stipitate, the ovules 2-8, the style filiform, slightly incurved, the stigma small, terminal; fruit compressed, indehiscent, suborbicular to asymmetrical, narrowly to broadly winged, the wing curved laterally or right around to base, the seed-bearing part central, variously thickened or hardened, the seeds 1-3 (-4), reniform or oblong-reniform."  (Smith. 1985).

Species:  "Trees, 15-25 m tall. Bark grayish. Leaves 15-30 cm; stipules early caducous; petiolules 4-7 mm; rachis and petiolule glabrous; leaflets 5-7 (-11), ovate-elliptic, 5-11 x 3.5-5.5 cm, thinly papery, both surfaces glabrous, veins slender, lateral veins 6-8 pairs, base truncate, margin entire, apex shortly acuminate. Inflorescence a raceme or panicle, mostly axillary, rarely terminal, 10-18 cm, puberulent. Flowers 1-1.5 cm; bracteoles 2, linear-oblong, at base of calyx. Pedicel 7-10 mm, slender. Calyx campanulate, 4-6 mm, appressed brown silky; teeth broadly triangular, ca. 1 mm, 2 larger than others. Corolla yellow; petals long clawed; standard ovate-orbicular to oblong, crisped at margin; wings oblong, ca. as long as standard; keel narrowly oblong, smaller than wings. Stamens 10, diadelphous (9+1), sheath 8-9 mm, vexillary filament free to base, filaments of varying heights; anthers versatile. Ovary shortly stipitate, oblong, 7-8 mm, densely pubescent; ovules 2; style curved; stigma minute. Legume orbicular, 4-4.5 x 3.5-4.5 cm, shortly stalked, flat, slightly hairy and reticulate opposite seed, 1-seeded, broadly winged around margin, wing to 2 cm wide. Seed brownish, reniform, narrow and oblique"  (Flora of China online).

"A tree up to 48 m high where indigenous...  The leaves have 5-11 leaflets usually up to 10 x 5 cm, ovate to lanceolate.  The fragrant flowers, about 1 cm long, have yellow or orange-yellow petals, and the suborbicular fruits, up to 6 cm in diameter with a stiffly membranaceous wing, are brown in drying"  (Smith, 1985; p. 159).

Habitat/ecology:  In Fiji, "occasionally cultivated near sea level" (Smith, 1985; p. 159).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Southeastern Asia (north to Ryukyu Islands) through Malesia and into the Pacific to the Caroline Islands and the New Hebrides, cultivated elsewhere" (Smith, 1985; p. 159).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Rota Island	native	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 117)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Saipan Island	native	Raulerson, L. (2006) (p. 38)
Federated States of Micronesia Chuuk Islands	Weno (Moen) Island	native	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 117)
Federated States of Micronesia Kosrae Island	Kosrae Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy (2010) (p. 17)
Federated States of Micronesia Kosrae Island	Kosrae Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (2005) (voucher ID: PTBG 47564) Taxon name on voucher: Pterocarpus indicus Willd.
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced cultivated	Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. (2010) (p. 96) Voucher cited: M.J. Balick 4090 (NY, PTBG)
Federated States of Micronesia Yap Islands	Yap (Waqab) Island	native	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 117)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (p. 159) Vouchers cited: DA 16432, DA 1553, DA 5513, DA 16773, L.26244
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 158) Voucher cited: BRY 26399
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 158) Voucher cited: BRY 26317
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	native	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 117)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 88) Vouchers cited: Guillaumin 9849, Schmid s.n. s.loc., MacKee 34307, MacKee 43025, Imbach in MacKee 43474
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island	native	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 117)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island		Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.) (1970) (voucher ID: BNM 475) Taxon name on voucher: Pterocarpus indicus (L.) Willd.
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island		Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.) (1970) (voucher ID: BNM 476) Taxon name on voucher: Pterocarpus indicus (L.) Willd.
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island		Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.) (1968) (voucher ID: BNM 478) Taxon name on voucher: Pterocarpus indicus (L.) Willd.
Palau Palau (main island group)	Koror Island	native	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 117)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Koror Island		Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.) (1969) (voucher ID: BNM 474) Taxon name on voucher: Pterocarpus indicus (L.) Willd.
Palau Palau (main island group)	Koror Island		Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.) (1966) (voucher ID: BNM 479) Taxon name on voucher: Pterocarpus indicus (L.) Willd.
Palau Palau (main island group)	Malakal Island	native	Space, James C./Lorence, David H./LaRosa, Anne Marie (2009) (p. Field notes)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Ngerkebesang Island	native	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 117)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Ngerkebesang Island	native	Space, James C./Lorence, David H./LaRosa, Anne Marie (2009) (p. Field notes)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Ngerkebesang Island		Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.) (2003) (voucher ID: BNM 51603) Taxon name on voucher: Pterocarpus indicus
Palau Palau (main island group)	Ngerkebesang Island		Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.) (1967) (voucher ID: BNM 477) Taxon name on voucher: Pterocarpus indicus (L.) Willd.
Papua New Guinea Bismarck Archipelago	Bismarck Archipelago	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Papua New Guinea Bismarck Archipelago	Bismarck Archipelago		Peekel, P. G. [translated by E. E. Henty] (1984) (p. 241) Generally common.
Papua New Guinea Bougainville Islands	Bougainville Island		Foreman, D. B. (1971) (p. 45)
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (p. 297) At low and medium altitudes, in primary and in some regions in secondary forests.
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Vanuatu New Hebrides Islands	Vanuatu (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) "Open forests on slopes, cultivated in villages and gardens".
China China	Hong Kong	introduced cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 152) Timber.
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Indonesia Indonesia	West Papua Province (Indonesia) (western New Guinea Island) (formerly Irian Jaya)	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Japan Ryukyu Islands	Ryukyu Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced invasive	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 73) Casual
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) "Open forests on slopes, cultivated in villages and gardens".
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Indian Ocean offshore islands) Christmas Island Group	Christmas Island	introduced cultivated	Swarbrick, J. T. (1997) (p. 125)
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Frégate Island		Robertson, S. A./Todd, D. M. (1983) (p. 52) Voucher cited: Robertson 2737
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)

Additional information:
Information from the World Agroforestry Centre's AgroForestryTree Database.
Information from the USDA Tropical Tree Seed Manual (PDF format).

Additional online information about Pterocarpus indicus is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Pterocarpus indicus as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Pterocarpus indicus may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.). 1966. Voucher specimen #BNM479(Cheatham 82).

Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.). 1967. Voucher specimen #BNM477(Hardy, S. 28).

Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.). 1968. Voucher specimen #BNM478(Emmons, B. 116).

Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.). 1969. Voucher specimen #BNM474(Salsedo, Carl. A. 237).

Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.). 1970. Voucher specimen #BNM475(Fisher, T. R. 102).

Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.). 1970. Voucher specimen #BNM476(Fisher, T. R. 66).

Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.). 2003. Voucher specimen #BNM51603(Kitalong, Ann AK051603).

Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. 2009. A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore: native, naturalised and cultivated species. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore. 273 pp.

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

Foreman, D. B. 1971. A check list of the vascular plants of Bougainville, with descriptions of some common forest trees. Botany Bulletin No. 5. Division of Botany, Department of Forests. Lae, New Guinea. 194 pp.

Fosberg, F. R./Otobed, D./Sachet, M.-H./Oliver, R. L./Powell, D. A./Canfield, J. E. 1980. Vascular plants of Palau with vernacular names. Department of Botany, The Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 43 pp.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1979. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian dicotyledonae. Micronesica 15:1-295.

Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. 2010. Checklist of the vascular plants of Pohnpei with local names and uses. Allertonia, in press. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 146 pp.

ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre. 2011. International Legume Database & Information Service. Online searchable database.

Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy. 2010. Checklist of the plants of Kosrae. Unpublished checklist. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 26 pp.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Merlin, M./Kigfas, A./Keene, T./Juvik, J. 1996. Giddi nge gakiiy nu Wa‘ab: Plants, People and Ecology in Yap State. Program on Environment, East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawai‘i, 121 pp.

Merrill, Elmer D. 1923. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants, vol. 2 [reprint]. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 530 pp.

National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.). 2005. Voucher specimen #PTBG47564(David H. Lorence 9429).

Peekel, P. G. [translated by E. E. Henty]. 1984. Flora of the Bismarck Archipelago for naturalists. Office of Forests, Division of Botany, Lae, Papua New Guinea. 638 pp. ISBN 9980-66-000-7.

Raulerson, L. 2006. Checklist of Plants of the Mariana Islands. University of Guam Herbarium Contribution 37:1-69. .

Robertson, S. A./Todd, D. M. 1983. Vegetation of Frégate Island, Seychelles. In: Sachet, M. H., D. R. Stoddart, and F. R. Fosberg. Floristics and ecology of Western Indian Ocean islands. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 273. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 253 pp.

Smith, Albert C. 1985. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 3. 758 pp.

Space, James C./Lorence, David H./LaRosa, Anne Marie. 2009. Report to the Republic of Palau: 2008 update on Invasive Plant Species. USDA Forest Service, Hilo, Hawai‘i. 227 pp.

Swarbrick, J. T. 1997. Environmental weeds and exotic plants on Christmas Island, Indian Ocean: a report to Parks Australia. 101 pp. plus appendix.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Welsh, S. L. 1998. Flora Societensis: A summary revision of the flowering plants of the Society Islands. E.P.S. Inc., Orem, Utah. 420 pp.

Whistler, W. A. 2000. Tropical ornamentals: a guide. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon. 542 pp.

Wu, Te-lin. 2001. Check List of Hong Kong Plants. Hong Kong Herbarium and the South China Institute of Botany. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Bulletin 1 (revised). 384 pp.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).