Alstonia scholaris

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Alstonia scholaris
Alstonia scholaris

Alstonia scholaris

Systematics
Order : Enzianartige (Gentianales)
Family : Dog poison family (Apocynaceae)
Subfamily : Rauvolfioideae
Tribe : Alstonieae
Genre : Alstonia
Type : Alstonia scholaris
Scientific name
Alstonia scholaris
( L. ) R.Br.

Alstonia scholaris , also known as the devil's tree, is a species of plant from the genus Alstonia within the family of the dog venom plants (Apocynaceae). It occurs mainly in the tropical rainforests of India and Southeast Asia . In these areas, the plant parts are used by the local population in folk medicine and as an aphrodisiac .

description

Leaves and inflorescence
illustration
Fruits and leaves
Fruits and arrangement of the leaves
Seeds with hair on both sides

Vegetative characteristics

Alstonia scholaris grows as a semi- evergreen tree that can reach heights of up to 40 meters. The trunk diameter reaches 60–120 centimeters. The trunk is often fluted at the bottom. The brown to gray, cracked to furrowed or rough bark covered with many lenticels is almost odorless, tastes strongly bitter and feels gritty between the teeth. A sticky milky juice flows in the rind , which also tastes bitter. All parts of the plant are considered poisonous.

The bare, leathery and simple leaves are usually five to seven (rarely four to ten) arranged in whorls on the branch. The short, only 0.5 to 3 centimeters long petioles end in a thick, hooked gland and there are colletuses at the base . The oblanceolate to elliptical, rounded to round-tipped or acuminate leaf blades are 9 to 25 centimeters long and 2 to 9 centimeters wide. The leaves are glossy on the top and pale green on the underside. The leaf margins are whole and the veins are pinnate with many side veins.

Generative characteristics

The flowering period extends mainly between June and November. The hairy, branched and terminal inflorescences standing on a 2 to 7 centimeter long inflorescence stem consist of zymous partial inflorescences .

The inconspicuous and small, hermaphrodite, short-stalked, fragrant flowers are five-fold with a double flower envelope . The flower stalks are about 2 to 5 millimeters long. The five short sepals are 2 millimeters long. The five greenish-yellowish, fine-haired petals are fused into an approximately 6-7 millimeter long, greenish and fine-haired tube. The egg-shaped, yellowish and fine-haired corolla lobes are 3 to 4.5 millimeters long. There is a discus . There is only one circle with five stamens in the corolla tube. The two-chambered ovary , with closely approximated carpels , is on top with an enclosed stylus with a stylus head with a collar.

The linear and very narrow follicles hanging in pairs are slightly wavy or curved, 30 to 60 centimeters long, 2 to 5 millimeters wide and contain many seeds. The up to 5 millimeters long, narrow and elongated seeds have a short hairy, eyelashed edge and a 1.3 to 2 centimeter long head of hair at each end. The fruits ripen in December and May.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 44 or 40.

Occurrence

Alstonia scholaris is mainly native to the tropical regions of India and Southeast Asia. It is also found in the tropical rainforests on the east coast of Australia and on the Solomon Islands . In the meantime, Alstonia scholaris has also been naturalized in other regions with tropical and subtropical conditions.

use

The wood of the dita tree is not stable enough to make anything out of it. In Sri Lanka coffins out of the wood, however, produced, and also for the production of parchment was Alstonia scholaris previously used in South Asia. Writing boards for school children were made from the wood, hence the specific epithet scholaris .

The bark is mainly used as a medicinal remedy. It is considered a tonic and a febrifugum ( antipyretic ). It is used in Ayurvedic medicine and for fever , malaria , leprosy , skin diseases, pruritus , tumors , chronic ulcers, asthma , bronchitis , frailty and especially gastrointestinal complaints such as diarrhea, dysentery or indigestion.

A decoction of the leaves was also used against beriberi disease.

The seeds are used to achieve an aphrodisiac or psychoactive effect.

The bark can be found in Asian markets in pieces about 1.5 cm thick, 3 to 5 cm wide and 7 to 12 cm long. It has a brown-pink color on the outside, but is lighter on the inside with light yellowish stripes or grains. The consistency is grainy and brittle.

Clothes made of wool or cotton are dyed in different shades of yellow with the help of the bark.

ingredients

The bark contains a number of different alkaloids , for example, Ditamin , Echitenin and Echitamin . These alkaloids served as an alternative to the well-known quinine , which among other things has an antipyretic (fever-lowering) effect. These substances were discovered as early as 1880. Ditamin (C 16 H 19 O 2 ) was extracted from the bark for the first time in 1875 by Jobst and Hesse , it is a white powder that tastes slightly bitter. However, it could only be obtained from 0.02% of the treated bark and therefore never came into general use as an antipyretic . Echitamin was obtained from the bark for the first time by Harnack , and it was again Hesse who determined the empirical formula , namely C 22 H 28 N 2 O 4 . It was also Hesse who discovered the brown, amorphous alkaloid echitenin (C 20 H 27 NO 4 ). In addition to these alkaloids, other various substances were extracted from the bark, including fatty acids, crystallizing acids and various greasy-resinous substances that are closely related to resins from other plants. Due to the low concentration of the ingredients, Alstonia scholaris is not very effective compared to Alstonia constricta .

Naming

The generic name Alstonia honors the Edinburgh botany professor Charles Alston (1685-1760). The genus Alstonia comprises about 43 species, which are distributed in all tropical areas. They are often difficult to distinguish from Alstonia scholaris and are therefore likely to be confused with one another. The best known plant species of the same genus is the fever tree ( Alstonia constricta ).

The specific epithet scholaris is derived from the Latin word for school, as the wood was traditionally used as a writing board. Alstonia scholaris is widely known by the locals as the "devil's tree" and is considered the devil's residence. That is why the members of certain tribes are reluctant to sit or walk under these trees.

There are some synonyms for Alstonia scholaris (L.) R.Br. present: Echites malabarica Lam. , Echites scholaris L. , Pala scholaris (L.) Roberty .

There are a number of other common names (selection): Australian Quinine Bark tree, Bitter-bark tree, Blackboard tree, Chatian (Hindi), Chatiun, Chattiyan, Chhatim (Bengali), chhation, Daivappala, Devil tree, Devil's tree, Dirita, Dita (Tagalot), Dita Bark Tree, Ditta, Dotik ( Tetum ), Elilampala, Elilappalai, Maddale (Kannada, South India), Milky pine (Australia) Nandani, Pala (Malayam, Tamil), Palai, Palimara, Pulai, Saittan ka jat, Saptaparna (Sanskrit “seven-leaved”), Saptachadah, Saptaparnah, Saptaparni, Satvin (Marathi “seven-leaved”), school wood tree, Shaitan (Arabic “devil”), Shaitan wood, Tanitan, white.

Legal position

In Germany, Alstonia scholaris is not subject to the Narcotics Act (BtMG).

swell

Web links

Commons : Alstonia scholaris  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Alstonia scholaris at Tropicos.org. In: IPCN Chromosome Reports . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis.