Pterocarpus dalbergioides

Syn. Pterocarpus advenus

IUCN Red List Vulnerable (VU)

Local name

Andaman Redwood (English)
Kiri Honne (Kannada)

Tree type

Evergreen Deciduous

Family: Fabaceae

40m

Indicated uses

Medicinal Edible Ornamental Avenue Other

Flowering & fruiting

Flowering Fruiting

Key characters

Bark

Thick, rough and flaky, reddish inside, peeling in irregular scales.

Leaves

Alternate, pinnately compound, imparipinnate, pulvinate; leaflets 5–9, ovate-lance-shaped, alternate, with a tapering tip.

Flower

Small (1–1.5 cm long), yellow, borne in panicles at branch-ends and in leaf-axils.

Fruit / Seeds

Pods flat, circular, winged, long-stalked, indehiscent, 4.5–7.6 × 4.8–7.7 cm, usually containing 1–2 compressed, smooth, shining, reddish-brown seeds, 7–14 mm long.

Did you know?

It is the official state tree of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, renowned for its strong, durable and beautifully coloured timber. Its fine-quality timber was prized for luxury railway saloons, musical instruments, decorative panelling and prestigious interiors, including those favoured by European aristocrats.

Distribution

Andaman Islands, Bangladesh, Jawa, Madagascar, Myanmar