General Description

Trees up 2-15 meter tall; up to 40 cm in diameter (diameter breast height). Bark fissured, flaky, pale yellowish grey to brown; inner bark pale yellow becoming green on exposure; sapwood soft yellow to brown. Leaves 3- or 5-foliolate. Leaflets almost sessile, outer two usually much smaller than the others, ovate or elliptic, 3—25 cm long, 1.5—10 cm wide; base rounded to slightly wedge-shaped; apex acuminate; margin entire; secondary veins 10—20 pairs; Inflorescences terminal panicles; Flowers whitish blue. Fruits 5—8 mm in diameter; ripening black

Distribution

Indo-Malesia covered Borneo; Sabah, Serawak and all provinces of Kalimantan. Indonesia, North to India, Sri Lanka and Cambodia. In the Philippines this species is only known from the islands of Palawan, Culion and Tawi- Tawi

Vitex pinnata is native to south and south east Asia. It is known by a variety of local names, "Milla" in Ceylon,"laban" in Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

, "gulimpapa" in Sulawesi

Sulawesi

Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...

, "kyetyo po" in Myanmar, "leban" in Malaysia, "molave" in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

, and "tinnok" in Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

. It is a slow growing tree, growing up to 60 ft and 1 to 3 meter circumference. It has a grayish brownish white bark and leaves are scented.

Local Names

Indonesia: Kalimantan: Laban; Amola, Gagil, Humulawan, Kalapapa, Kulimpapa batu, Kulimpapa simpor, Kulumpapa, Laban daun menjari, Laben, Leban, Pagil. Sumba island: Hiketaroe; Komodo: Pampa; Sumatra: Kopiher (Karo language), Aloban-bátu, Aloban Kardoek or Aloban búnga. Malaysia: Bunyak laban.

Ecology

Growing well usually in secondary forests, on riverbanks and along roads including in marginal land such as Imperata cylindrica area , . The species seemingly tolerates regular fires. In tropic condition such as in East Kalimantan, flowering and fruiting are almost all the time from January to December. The fruits are eaten by birds and seeds cannot germinate under the shade and need light to germinate

Uses

Vitex pinnata has a very strong and durable wood, it is durable even in contact with water or soil.
It is a grayish brown in color. Density is about 930 kg per cubic metre (58 lbs per cubic foot). Wood is used for posts, door and window frames, sleepers and some furniture.

The wood is used for construction and the manufacture of knife handles. Leaves and bark are used to treat abdominal pain, fever and malaria.

Propagation

Vitex pinnata can be propagated by seeds, cuttings and wildlings. One kilogram seeds of Vitex pinnata are around 1100-1200 seeds.

External links

• Germplasm Resources Information Network page