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Saraca indica

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ashoka tree
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Saraca
Species:
S. indica
Binomial name
Saraca indica
Synonyms[1]
  • Jonesia asoca misapplied
  • Jonesia minor Zoll. & Moritzi
  • Saraca asoca misapplied
  • Saraca arborescens Burm.f.
  • Saraca bijuga Prain
  • Saraca harmandiana Pierre
  • Saraca minor (Zoll. & Moritzi) Miq.
  • Saraca pierreana Craib
  • Saraca zollingeriana "sensu Prain, non Miq."

Saraca indica, commonly known as the asoka tree, ashok or simply asoca,[2] is a species of tree in the family Fabaceae, subfamily Detarioideae. The species is native to most of Mainland Southeast Asia and Western Indonesia. It grows to a height of 20 metres (66 feet) and is known for its clusters of orange-yellow to red flowers. The original plant specimen from which Carl Linnaeus described the species came from Java, but the name S. indica has been generally incorrectly applied to S. asoca since 1869.[3]

Description

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Saraca indica is an evergreen flowering tree which grows to about 20 metres (66 feet) in height, though some sources describe it as growing to 24 metres (79 feet). The trunk can reach up to 34 centimetres (13 inches) in diameter. The bark is dark brown to almost black in color and has a warty and uneven surface caused by lenticels. Fractures in the bark expose thin whitish layers.[4] Leaves are compound and paripinnate with each leaf having 1-7 pairs of leaflets along a 6–20-centimetre (2.4–7.9-inch) rachis. Leaflets are 5–30 centimetres (2.0–11.8 inches) long by 3.5–6 centimetres (1.4–2.4 inches) wide, with a glabrous surface, elliptic to lanceolate in shape. Bases are obtuse or rounded, cordate or cuneate; tips are acute to obtuse, sometimes acuminate. Leaflet pairs close to the leaf stalk are usually smaller than the rest. Young leaves flush white, pink, or purple and hang pendulously, turning green as they mature and are brownish when dry.[5][6]

Inflorescence is a 3–15-centimetre (1.2–5.9-inch) diameter corymb with slender branches, with apetalous, bisexual flowers with yellowish orange sepals. Bracts are 2–8 millimetres (0.079–0.315 inches) by 1.5–4.5 millimetres (0.059–0.177 inches) in size, ovate to oval shaped, and fugacious. Bracteoles are 3–8 millimetres (0.12–0.31 inches) long by 1.5–4 millimetres (0.059–0.157 inches), ovate to oval-oblong shaped, upright and spreading, may be persistent or fugacious when they fall off during maturity, and are orange-colored. The pedicel is 10–25 millimetres (0.39–0.98 inches) long, 5–10 millimetres (0.20–0.39 inches) long including the part above the bracteoles, and bibracteolate at the juncture with a long and narrow hypanthium. The receptacle is 7–16 millimetres (0.28–0.63 inches) long. The 4 petaloid sepals are 5–12 millimetres (0.20–0.47 inches) by 2–7 millimetres (0.079–0.276 inches) in size, obtuse or rounded at the tip and spreading, and orange-reddish in color. The stamens, 6-8 in total, sometimes 5-10, are exserted and conspicuous. The ovary is pubescent along the margins, with 6-8 ovules.[4][5][6] Flowers may have a subtle fragrance. The trees have been observed to bloom several times a year.[5]

The fruits are dry dehiscent woody legumes or pods, 6–25 centimetres (2.4–9.8 inches) long by 2–6 centimetres (0.79–2.36 inches) wide, oval or oblong-lanceolate in shape, beaked at the apex and cuneate or rounded at the base, and stipitate.[5][6] The pods coil and are split when ripe.[5]

  • Saraca indica bark.
    Saraca indica bark.
  • Saraca indica ovate leaves.
    Saraca indica ovate leaves.
  • Saraca indica lanceolate leaves.
    Saraca indica lanceolate leaves.
  • Young leaves showing pink-purple flush.
    Young leaves showing pink-purple flush.
  • Close-up of saraca indica flowers.
    Close-up of saraca indica flowers.

S. indica is often confused with S. asoca, but can be distinguished by their bracteoles, number of ovules, pod sizes, and geographic distribution. S. indica bracteoles are caducous or persistent during anthesis and do not clasp the pedicel, whereas S. asoca bracteoles are persistent during anthesis and are erect and clasp the pedicel. S. indica has 6-8 ovules whereas S. asoca has 8-10 and up to 12. Both pods are oblong, but S. indica pods may be narrowly oblong-lanceolate while S. asoca pods may be elongate-oblong or scimitar-shaped; both species' pods can grow up to a similar size but S. indica have smaller lower size range of 6 cm × 2 cm (2.36 in × 0.79 in), where S. asoca pods have a size range starting at 12.5 cm × 3.5 cm (4.9 in × 1.4 in), being generally longer than S. indica. The species also differ in native distribution: S. indica, despite its name, is native to most of Mainland Southeast Asia and Western Indonesia while S. asoca is native to the Indian Subcontinent and Myanmar west of the Irrawaddy River.[7]

For its part, Saraca asoca is also often misidentified as S. indica, and in India as of 2014, pharmacological researchers, ayurvedic physicians, herbal industries, and several publications continued to erroneously refer to S. asoca as S. indica.[7]

Saraca is sometimes confused with the false ashoka, Monoon longifolium, which is a lofty evergreen tree native to India. It exhibits symmetrical pyramidal growth with willowy weeping pendulous branches and long narrow lanceolate leaves with undulate margins. The false ashoka tree is known to grow over 30 ft in height.

Taxonomy

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Saraca indica was formally described by botanist Carl Linnaeus in Mantissa Plantarum I in 1767;[8] the type specimen was collected by Christiaan Kleynhoff from Java.[9] Saraca arborescens was identified by Nicolaas Laurens Burman and his description was published in Flora Indica in 1768.[10] It was later determined that S. arborescens is a synonym of S. indica and that its type species was "certainly a duplicate of Linnaeus'" type for S. indica.[11]

Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel published his description in 1855. He also described S. Zollingeriana, which was later reclassified as a variety of S. indica.[12]John Gilbert Baker described it in The Flora of British India, published in 1879.[13] Sijfert Hendrik Koorders and Theodoric Valenton published a description in 1895.[14]

S. indica was described by George King in Materials for a Flora of the Malayan Peninsula, published in the 1897 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. The Journal also included a description by David Prain of S. bijuga,[15] which was later reclassified as a variety of S. indica, and his identifications of S. kunstleri and S. minor var. bijuga were reclassified as a synonym of S. indica. Of S. indica, Prain wrote that after studying the material in the Calcutta Herbarium, he could find no evidence that it extended as a wild species east of the Irrawaddy. He found no specimens there from the Malay Peninsula and determined that those seen by J. G. Baker must have been from planted trees.[16] François Gagnepain's description of S. indica was published in 1913, and he classified S. zollingeriana and S. bijuga as varieties of S. indica.[17][3]

Synonyms

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  •    Jonesia minor Zoll. & Moritzi  
  •   Jonesia pinnata Willd.  
  •   Saraca arborescens Burm.f.  
  •   Saraca bijuga Prain  
  •   Saraca harmandiana Pierre  
  •   Saraca indica var. bijuga (Prain) Gagnep.  
  •   Saraca indica var. zollingeriana (Miq.) Gagnep.  
  •   Saraca kunstleri Prain  
  •   Saraca lobbiana Baker  
  •   Saraca minor (Zoll. & Moritzi) Miq.  
  •   Saraca minor var. bijuga Prain  
  •   Saraca pierreana Craib  
  •   Saraca zollingeriana sensu Prain, non Miq.

Ecology

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The tree is evergreen and may flower multiple times a year but is said to flower in February and fruit in May. It is biotically pollinated and attracts bees. S. indica grows best along streams in forests;[6] it prefers full sun, moderate water and fertile, loamy, well-drained soils.[5] The seeds are eaten by monkeys and squirrels.[18]

Uses

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S. indica is cultivated as an ornamental tree for its fragrant and showy flowers.[6] It is considered suitable for roadsides as well as parks and gardens. The wood is sometimes used to make small utensils, pallets, veneer and plywood.[5] In Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand, people eat the flowers and leaves of one variety of the species.[18] The flowers are said to taste sourish.[6][5]

  • In a wholesale plant nursery.
    In a wholesale plant nursery.
  • Flowers for use in cooking sold in a market in Laos.
    Flowers for use in cooking sold in a market in Laos.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Saraca indica L. — The Plant List". The Plant List. 6 January 2015. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  2. ^ "Saraca indica L. — Checklist View". GBIF. 6 January 2015. Archived from the original on 5 June 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  3. ^ a b Zuijderhoudt, G.F.P. (1968), "A revision of the genus Saraca L. — (Legum. Caes.)", Blumea, 15: 413–425, archived from the original on 2016-03-04, retrieved 2016-01-06
  4. ^ a b Nazar, Halima; Khan, Usmanghani; Sabira, Sultana (February 2016). "Saraca indica (Roxb.): Monograph". International Journal of Botany Studies. 1 (2): 01–04. ISSN 2455-541X.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h "NParks | Saraca indica". www.nparks.gov.sg. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Saraca indica L." World Flora Online.
  7. ^ a b Begum, S. Noorunnisa; Ravikumar, K.; Ved, D. K. (2014). "'Asoka' – an important medicinal plant, its market scenario and conservation measures in India" (PDF). Current Science. 107 (1): 26–28. ISSN 0011-3891. JSTOR 24103399. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 June 2024.
  8. ^ Linnaeus, Carl (1767). Mantissa plantarum: Generum editionis VI. et specierum editionis II. Vol. 1. Holmiæ: Impensis Direct. Laurentii Salvii.
  9. ^ de Wilde, W. J. J. O. (1967-01-01). "A new combination and a new species in Saraca L. (Caesalpiniaceae)". Blumea: Biodiversity, Evolution and Biogeography of Plants. 15 (2): 393–395. ISSN 2212-1676.
  10. ^ Burman, Nicolaas Laurens (1768). Nicolai Laurentii Burmanni Flora Indica : cui accedit series zoophytorum Indicorum, nec non prodromus florae Capensis. Amstelaedami: Apud Cornelium Haek.
  11. ^ de Wilde, W. J. J. O. (1967-01-01). "A new combination and a new species in Saraca L. (Caesalpiniaceae)". Blumea: Biodiversity, Evolution and Biogeography of Plants. 15 (2): 393–395. ISSN 2212-1676.
  12. ^ Miquel, Friedrich Anton Wilhelm (1855). Flora van Nederlandsch Indië (in Dutch). Missouri Botanical Garden. Amsterdam: C. G. van der Post. pp. 83–84.
  13. ^ Baker, John Gilbert (1879). "Order L. Leguminosae". The Flora of British India. Vol. II. London: L. Reeve & Company. pp. 271–272.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  14. ^ Koorders, Sijfert Hendrik; Valeton, Theodoric; Valeton, Theodoric (1895). Bijdrage no. 1-13 tot de kennis der boomsoorten op Java (in Dutch). Vol. 2. Harvard University Botany Libraries. Batavia: G. Kolff & company. pp. 36–39.
  15. ^ King, George. "Materials for a Flora of the Malayan Peninsula". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. LXVI (Part II, Number I): 213–215.
  16. ^ Prain, David. "Noviciae Indicae XV. Some additional Leguminosae". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. LXVI (Part II, Number II): 213–215.
  17. ^ Gagnepain, François (1913). Flore générale de l'Indo-Chine (in French). Vol. 2. Paris: Masson et Cie. pp. 210–211.
  18. ^ a b Hargreaves, Dorothy; Hargreaves, Bob (1970). Tropical Trees of the Pacific. Kailua, Hawaii: Hargreaves. p. 5.
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