5
Ailanthus excelsa Roxb.
Synonym : Ailanthus wightii Tiegh.
Family
: Simaroubaceae
Local Names
: Matti, Peerumaram, Tree of
Heaven
Flowering
and fruiting period:
December – July
Distribution: Indo-Malaysia
Habitat: Planted in the plains
IUCN
status:
Data deficient
Endemic:
No
Uses: Fruits edible, Young
leaf, stem edible. The bark is
febrifuge and tonic. It is used as a treatment against asthma, bronchitis and dysentery.
The leaves and bark are in good repute as a tonic that is used after labour.
The juice of the leaves and fresh bark is used as a remedy for after-pains
Key
Characters: Trees, to 25 m high,
bark light greyish-brown. Leaves pari or imparipinnate, alternate; leaflets
13-29, subopposite; lamina very variable in shape, margin irregularly and
coarsely dentate. Flowers polygamous, yellowish, in subterminal panicles, emits
foetid smell; male flowers: sepals 5, ovate; petals 5, ovate-lanceolate; stamens
10, inserted at the base disc; bisexual
