Alstonia is a widespread
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
of
evergreenIn botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaves all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
trees and
shrubA shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall. A large number of plants can be either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s from the dogbane family (
ApocynaceaeThe Apocynaceae or dogbane family is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, and lianas.Many species are tall trees found in tropical rainforests, and most are from the tropics and subtropics, but some grow in tropical dry, xeric environments. There are also perennial herbs...
). It was named by
Robert Brown-Politicians:*Sir Robert Brown, 1st Baronet, of Westminster , British Member of Parliament*Bob Brown , Australian Greens senator*Bob Brown , Australian Labor Party politician from 1978 to 1998...
in 1811, after
Charles AlstonCharles Alston was a Scottish botanist.Alston was born in Hamilton. In 1715 he went to Leyden to study under the Dutch physician Hermann Boerhaave. On his return to Scotland he became lecturer in materia medica and botany at Edinburgh and also superintendent of the botanical gardens...
(1685-1760), Professor of
botanyBotany, plant science, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of biology and is the scientific study of plant life and development...
at
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas....
from 1716-1760.
The type species
Alstonia scholaris (L.) R.Br. was originally named
Echites scholaris by
LinnaeusCarl Linnaeus was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature...
in 1767.
Alstonia (devil tree) consists of about 40-60
speciesIn biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....
(according to different authors), native to tropical and subtropical
AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
,
Central AmericaManagua
Guatemala City
San Salvador
San Pedro Sula
Panama City
San José, Costa Rica
Santa Ana, El Salvador
León
San Miguel|-|}...
,
southeast AsiaManila
Bangkok
Ho Chi Minh City
Kuala Lumpur
Singapore
Yangon
Bandung
Hanoi
Surabaya
Taichung
Kaohsiung
Medan|-|}...
,
PolynesiaPolynesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising a large grouping of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean.-Definition:...
and
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
, with most species in the Malesian region.
These trees can grow very large, such as
Alstonia pneumatophora, recorded with a height of 60 m and a diameter of more than 2 m.
Alstonia is a widespread
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
of
evergreenIn botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaves all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
trees and
shrubA shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall. A large number of plants can be either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s from the dogbane family (
ApocynaceaeThe Apocynaceae or dogbane family is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, and lianas.Many species are tall trees found in tropical rainforests, and most are from the tropics and subtropics, but some grow in tropical dry, xeric environments. There are also perennial herbs...
). It was named by
Robert Brown-Politicians:*Sir Robert Brown, 1st Baronet, of Westminster , British Member of Parliament*Bob Brown , Australian Greens senator*Bob Brown , Australian Labor Party politician from 1978 to 1998...
in 1811, after
Charles AlstonCharles Alston was a Scottish botanist.Alston was born in Hamilton. In 1715 he went to Leyden to study under the Dutch physician Hermann Boerhaave. On his return to Scotland he became lecturer in materia medica and botany at Edinburgh and also superintendent of the botanical gardens...
(1685-1760), Professor of
botanyBotany, plant science, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of biology and is the scientific study of plant life and development...
at
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas....
from 1716-1760.
The type species
Alstonia scholaris (L.) R.Br. was originally named
Echites scholaris by
LinnaeusCarl Linnaeus was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature...
in 1767.
Description
Alstonia (devil tree) consists of about 40-60
speciesIn biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....
(according to different authors), native to tropical and subtropical
AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
,
Central AmericaManagua
Guatemala City
San Salvador
San Pedro Sula
Panama City
San José, Costa Rica
Santa Ana, El Salvador
León
San Miguel|-|}...
,
southeast AsiaManila
Bangkok
Ho Chi Minh City
Kuala Lumpur
Singapore
Yangon
Bandung
Hanoi
Surabaya
Taichung
Kaohsiung
Medan|-|}...
,
PolynesiaPolynesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising a large grouping of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean.-Definition:...
and
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
, with most species in the Malesian region.
These trees can grow very large, such as
Alstonia pneumatophora, recorded with a height of 60 m and a diameter of more than 2 m.
Alstonia longifolia is the only species growing in Central America (mainly shrubs, but also trees 20 m high).
The leathery, sessile, simple
leavesIn botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin. There is continued debate about whether the flatness of leaves evolved to expose the chloroplasts to more light or to increase the absorption of carbon dioxide. In...
are elliptical, ovate, linear or lanceolate and wedge-shaped at the base. The leaf blade is dorsiventral, medium-sized to large and disposed oppositely or in a whorl and with entire margin. The leaf venation is pinnate, with numerous veins ending in a marginal vein.
The
inflorescenceAn inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is terminal or axillary, consisting of thyrsiform
cymeCyme or CYME may refer to:*Cyme , an ancient Greek city on the east coast of the Aegean Sea*Kymi, an ancient Greek city on the west coast of the Aegean Sea*Matane Airport * A type of inflorescence on a plant...
s or compound
umbelAn umbel is an inflorescence which consists of a number of short flower stalks which are equal in length and spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs....
s. The small, more or less fragrant
flowerA flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds...
s are white, yellow, pink or green and funnel-shaped, growing on a pedicel and subtended by
bractIn botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale...
s. They consist of 5
petalA petal is one member or part of the corolla of a flower. The corolla is the name for all of the petals of a flower; the inner perianth whorl, term used when this is not the same in appearance as the outermost whorl and is used to attract pollinators based on its bright color...
s and 5
sepalA sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Sepals in most flowers are green and lie under the more conspicuous petals. As a collective unit the sepals form a calyx, whereas the collection of petals is called the corolla...
s, arranged in four whorls. The fertile flowers are hermaphrodite. The gamosepalous green sepals consist of ovate lobes, and are distributed in one whorl. The annular disk is hypogynous. The five gamesepalous petals have oblong or ovate lobes and are disposed in one whorl. The corolla lobes overlapping to the left (such as
A. rostrata) or to the right (such as
A. macrophylla) in the bud. The
ovaryIn the flowering plants, an ovary is a part of the female reproductive organ of the flower or gynoecium. Specifically, it is the part of the carpel which holds the ovule and is located above or below or at the point of connection with the base of the petals and sepals...
has 2 separate follicles with glabrous or ciliate, oblong
seedA seed , referred to as a kernel in some plants, is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s that develop into deep blue podlike, schizocarp
fruitThe term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants disseminate seeds, and the presence of seeds indicates that a structure is most likely a fruit, though not all seeds come from...
, between 7-40 cm long. The plants contain a milky sap, rich in poisonous
alkaloidAlkaloids are naturally occurring chemical compounds containing basic nitrogen atoms. The name derives from the word alkaline and was used to describe any nitrogen-containing base. Alkaloids are produced by a large variety of organisms, including bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals and are part of...
s. The
Alstonia macrophylla is commonly known in
Sri LankaSri Lanka , officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka , is an island country in South Asia, located about off the southern coast of India...
as 'Havari nuga' or the 'wig banyan' because of its distinct flower that looks like a woman's long wig.
Alstonia trees are used in
traditional medicineTraditional medicine comprises medical knowledge systems that developed over generations within various societies before the era of modern medicine...
. The bark of the
Alstonia constrictaAlstonia constricta, commonly known as Quinine Bush or Bitterbark, is an endemic Australian endemic shrub or small tree of the family Apocynaceae.-Growth:...
and the
Alstonia scholarisAlstonia scholaris Alstonia scholaris Alstonia scholaris (Apocynaceae, commonly called Blackboard tree, Indian devil tree, Ditabark, Milkwood pine, White cheesewood and Pulai; syn. Echites scholaris L. Mant., Pala scholaris L...
is a source of a remedy against
malariaMalaria is a vector-borne infectious disease caused by a eukaryotic protist of the genus Plasmodium. It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas, Asia, and Africa. Each year, there are approximately 350–500 million cases of malaria, killing between one and...
, toothache, rheumatism and snake bites. The
latexLatex refers generically to a stable dispersion of polymer microparticles in an aqueous medium. Latexes may be natural or synthetic. Latex as found in nature is a milky sap-like fluid within many plants that coagulates on exposure to air. It is a complex emulsion in which proteins, alkaloids,...
is used in treating coughs, throat sores and fever.
Many
Alstonia species are commercial timbers, called
pule or
pulai in Indonesia and Malaysia. Trees from the section
Alstonia produce light timber, while those from the sections
Monuraspermum and
Dissuraspermum produce heavy timber.
Alstonia trees are widespread and mostly not endangered. However a few species are very rare, such as
A. annamensis,
A. beatricis,
A. breviloba,
A. stenophylla and
A. guangxiensis.
Species
Alstonia has five distinct sections, each a monophyletic group;
Alstonia,
Blaberopus,
Tonduzia,
Monuraspermum,
Dissuraspermum.
- Alstonia actinophylla (A.Cunn.) K.Schum. - Milkwood
- Alstonia acuminata Miq.
- Alstonia annamensis
Alstonia annamensis is a species of plant in the Apocynaceae family. It is endemic to Vietnam.-References:* Sidiyasa, K. 1998. . Downloaded on 20 August 2007....
( Monach. ) K.Sidiyasa
- Alstonia angustifolia
Alstonia angustifolia is a species of plant in the Apocynaceae family. It is found in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.-References:* Sidiyasa, K. 1998. . Downloaded on 20 August 2007....
A.DC.
- Alstonia balansae Guillaumin
- Alstonia beatricis
Alstonia beatricis is a species of plant in the Apocynaceae family. It is endemic to Indonesia.-References:* Sidiyasa, K. 1998. . Downloaded on 20 August 2007....
K.Sidiyasa
- Alstonia boonei De Wild.
- Alstonia boulindaensis Boiteau
- Alstonia brassii Monachino
- Alstonia breviloba
Alstonia breviloba is a species of plant in the Apocynaceae family. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea.-References:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . Downloaded on 20 August 2007....
K.Sidiyasa
- Alstonia calophylla Miq.
- Alstonia comptonii S.Moore
- Alstonia congensis Engl.
- Alstonia constricta
Alstonia constricta, commonly known as Quinine Bush or Bitterbark, is an endemic Australian endemic shrub or small tree of the family Apocynaceae.-Growth:...
F.Muell. - Bitterbark, Quinine Tree, Australian Fever Bark
- Alstonia coriacea Pancher & S.Moore
- Alstonia costata R.Br.
- Alstonia cuneata Wall. & G.Don
- Alstonia curtisii King & Gamble
- Alstonia deplanchei Van Heurck & Müll.Arg.
- Alstonia duerckheimianan Schltr.
- Alstonia edulis G.Benn.
- Alstonia elliptica J.W.Moore
- Alstonia esquirolii H.Lév.
- Alstonia eximia Miq.
- Alstonia ficifolia S.Moore
- Alstonia filipes Schltr. ex Guillaumin
- Alstonia fragrans J.W.Moore
- Alstonia gilletii De Wild.
- Alstonia glabriflora Markgr.
- Alstonia godeffroyi Reinecke
- Alstonia grandifolia Miq.
- Alstonia guangxiensis D.Fang & X.X.Chen
- Alstonia henryi
Alstonia henryi is a species of plant in the Apocynaceae family. It is endemic to China.-References:* China Plant Specialist Group 2004. . Downloaded on 20 August 2007....
Tsiang
- Alstonia iwahigensis Elmer
- Alstonia kurzii Hook.f.
- Alstonia lanceolata Van Heurck & Müll.Arg.
- Alstonia lanceolifera S.Moore
- Alstonia legouixiae Van Heurck & Müll.Arg.
- Alstonia lenormandii Van Heurck & Müll.Arg.
- Alstonia linearifolia Guillaumin
- Alstonia linearis Benth.
- Alstonia longifolia (A.DC.) Pichon
- Alstonia longissima F.Muell.
- Alstonia macrophylla
Alstonia macrophylla is a species of plant in the Apocynaceae family. It is found in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.-References:* Sidiyasa, K. 1998. . Downloaded on 20 August 2007....
Wall. ex G.Don - Batino, Devil Tree
- Alstonia mairei H. Léveillé
- Alstonia marquisensis
Alstonia marquisensis is a species of plant in the Apocynaceae family. It is endemic to French Polynesia.-Source:* Florence, J. 1998. . Downloaded on 20 August 2007....
M.L.Grant ex Fosberg & Sachet
- Alstonia micrantha Ridl.
- Alstonia mollis Benth.
- Alstonia montana Turrill
- Alstonia muelleriana Domin - Jackapple, Leatherjacket, Milky Yellowwood
- Alstonia paupera (synonym of A. mairei)
- Alstonia penangiana
Alstonia penangiana is a species of plant in the Apocynaceae family. It is endemic to Malaysia.-References:* Sidiyasa, K. 1998. . Downloaded on 20 August 2007....
K.Sidiyasa
- Alstonia plumosa Labill.
- Alstonia pneumatophora
Alstonia pneumatophora is a species of plant in the Apocynaceae family. It is found in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.-References:* Sidiyasa, K. 1998. . Downloaded on 20 August 2007....
Backer ex L.G.Den Berger
- Alstonia polyphylla Miq.
- Alstonia quaternata Van Heurck & Müll.Arg.
- Alstonia reineckeana Lauterb.
- Alstonia retusa S.Moore
- Alstonia roeperi Van Heurck & Müll.Arg.
- Alstonia rostrata C.E.C.Fischer
- Alstonia rubiginosa
Alstonia rubiginosa is a species of plant in the Apocynaceae family. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea.-References:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . Downloaded on 20 August 2007....
K.Sidiyasa
- Alstonia rupestris
Alstonia rupestris is a species of plant in the Apocynaceae family. It is endemic to Thailand.-References:* Sidiyasa, K. 1998. . Downloaded on 20 August 2007....
Kerr
- Alstonia saligna S.Moore
- Alstonia scholaris
Alstonia scholaris Alstonia scholaris Alstonia scholaris (Apocynaceae, commonly called Blackboard tree, Indian devil tree, Ditabark, Milkwood pine, White cheesewood and Pulai; syn. Echites scholaris L. Mant., Pala scholaris L...
(L.) R.Br. - Pali-mari, Dita Bark, Bitter Bark, Milkwood, Milky Bean, Milky Pine, White Cheesewood, Blackboard Tree
- Alstonia sericea Blume
- Alstonia setchelliana Christoph.
- Alstonia smithii Markgr.
- Alstonia somersetensis F.M.Bailey
- Alstonia spathulifolia Guillaumin
- Alstonia spatulata Blume - Hard Milkwood, Siamese Balsa
- Alstonia spectabilis R.Br. - Poele Bark, Jackapple, Leatherjacket, Milky Yellowwood
- Alstonia sphaerocapitata Boiteau
- Alstonia stenophylla Guillaumin
- Alstonia subsessilis Miq.
- Alstonia twahigensis
- Alstonia undulata Guillaumin
- Alstonia undulifolia K.M.Kochummen & K.M.Wong
- Alstonia venenata R.Br.
- Alstonia verticillosa F.Muell.
- Alstonia vieillardii Van Heurck & Müll.Arg.
- Alstonia villosa Blume
- Alstonia vitiensis Seem.
- Alstonia yunnanensis Diels