Burma padauk | |
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Scientific classification
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Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Fabales |
Family: | Fabaceae |
Subfamily: | Faboideae |
Genus: | Pterocarpus |
Species: | P. macrocarpus
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Binomial name | |
Pterocarpus macrocarpus | |
Synonyms [2] | |
List
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Pterocarpus macrocarpus, or Burma padauk, [3] is a tree native to the seasonal tropical forests of southeastern Asia: in Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. [2] [4] [5] It has been naturalized in India and the Caribbean. [4]
Pterocarpus macrocarpus is a medium-sized tree growing to 10–30 m (rarely to 39 m) tall, with a trunk up to 1.7 m diameter; it is deciduous in the dry season. The bark is flaky, grey-brown; if cut, it secretes a red gum. The leaves are 200–350 mm long, pinnate, with 9–11 leaflets. The flowers are yellow, produced in racemes 50–90 mm long. The fruit is a pod surrounded by a round wing 45–70 mm diameter, containing two or three seeds. [4] [5]
The wood is durable and resistant to termites; it is important, used for furniture, construction timber, cart wheels, tool handles, and posts; [5] though not a true rosewood it is sometimes traded as such. The seasonal padauk flowers bloom annually around Thingyan (April) and is considered one of the national symbols [6] of Myanmar (formerly Burma).
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