Malay Lac Tree. Lac tree, Ceylon oak
Schleichera oleosa

Family: Sapindaceae

What it is like

Schleichera oleosa is a deciduous Tree growing to 30 m (98ft) by 25 m (82ft) at a slow rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. The plant is not self-fertile. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers dry or moist soil.

Height (m): 30

Where it is found

Occurs spontaneously in dry, mixed deciduous forest and savannah with only scattered trees, sometimes gregariously. Found at elevations from sea level to about 980 metres.

E. Asia - India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia.

Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed

Countries/locations it is found in

Afghanistan, Africa, Asia, Australia, Cambodia, East Timor, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, SE Asia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, West Africa

How it is used

Food

Rating: 3

Young leaves and shoots - raw, cooked in soups or steamed and served with rice. The ripe fruit is eaten raw. A pleasantly acid flavour. Unripe fruits are pickled. The fruit is a broadly ovoid, ellipsoid to subglobular berry 15 - 25mm x 10 - 20mm. An oil obtained from the seed, called macassar oil, is sometimes used for culinary purposes. It contains cyanogenic compounds, which may cause giddiness and should be removed if the oil is used for human consumption. Staple Crop: Oil.

Oil: Oil

Medicine

Rating: 2

Powdered seeds are applied to wounds and ulcers of cattle to remove maggots. The bark is astringent and is used against leprotic ruptures, skin inflammations and ulcers, while an infusion is taken against malaria. The bark contains about 10% tannin and the analgesic compound lupeol. The antitumor agents betulin and betulic acid have also been isolated from it. In traditional medicine, the oil obtained from the seed is applied externally to cure itching, acne and other skin afflictions. Massaging the oil into the scalp is said to promote the growth of hair lost through baldness. The pulp of the fruit is astringent and appetite inducing.

Analgesic: Relieves pain.

Antitumor: Preventing, or effective against, tumors, it is used in the treatment of cancer. Probably synonymous with Cytotoxic.

Appetizer: Improves the appetite

Astringent: Produces contraction in living tissue, reducing the flow of secretions and discharges of blood, mucus, diarrhoea etc.

Malaria: Treats malaria - an acute febrile illness caused by Plasmodium parasites spread to people through the bites of mosquitos.

Skin: Plants used in miscellaneous treatments for the skin.

Other

Rating: 3

An oil extracted from the seed, called 'kusum oil', is a valuable component of true Macassar oil used in hairdressing. It is also used for lighting purposes. The oil is also used in the batik industry, and in southern India, as a cooling bath oil The oil content of the kernel varies from 59-72%. The oil is yellowish-brown and semi-solid and consists of oleic acid (52%), arachidic acid (20%), stearic acid (10%), gadoleic acid (9%). The bark contains about 10% tannin and a dye. The heartwood is reddish to pinkish-brown; it is clearly demarcated from the sapwood. The wood is very hard, very heavy, very strong. It is durable in water according to some reports, but not durable according to another. It cracks very easily during seasoning. It is difficult to work, being very hard to saw, though it can be planed to a very smooth surface which takes a high, lasting polish. An excellent wood for making pestles, cartwheels, axles, ploughs, tool handles and rollers of sugar mills and oil presses, it is also used in house construction, ship building and musical instruments. The wood is suitable as firewood and makes excellent charcoal. The energy value of the wood is about 20 800 kJ/kg. Fodder: Bank, Insect.

Charcoal: Used for fuel, drawing, deodorant, filter, fertilizer etc.

Dye: Plants that provide dyes.

Fodder: Food given to the animals (including plants cut and carried to them) rather than forage for themselves.

Fuel: Usually wood, plant materials that have been mentioned as being a good fuel.

Hair: Plants used as hair shampoos, tonics, to treat balding etc.

Lighting: Plants that can be used as torches etc. See also Oil and Wax.

Oil: Vegetable oils have many uses, as lubricants, lighting, soap and paint making, waterproofing etc. This does not include the edible oils unless they are also mentioned as having other uses.

Tannin: An astringent substance obtaied from plants, it is used medicinally, as a dye and mordant, stabilizer in pesticide etc.

Wood: A list of the trees and shrubs that are noted for having useful wood.

Fodder: Bank: Fodder banks are plantings of high-quality fodder species. Their goal is to maintain healthy productive animals. They can be utilized all year, but are designed to bridge the forage scarcity of annual dry seasons. Fodder bank plants are usually trees or shrubs, and often legumes. The relatively deep roots of these woody perennials allow them to reach soil nutrients and moisture not available to grasses and herbaceous plants.

Fodder: Insect: Plants grown for useful fodder insects.

Management: Standard: Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.

Regional Crop: These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits.

Staple Crop: Oil: (0-15 percent protein, 16+ percent oil). Some of these are consumed whole while others are exclusively pressed for oil. Annuals include canola, poppyseed, maize, cottonseed, sunflower, peanut. Perennials include high-oil fruits, seeds, and nuts, such as olive, coconut, avocado, oil palm, shea, pecan, and macadamia. Some perennial oil crops are consumed whole as fruits and nuts, while others are exclusively pressed for oil (and some are used fresh and for oil).

Fodder: Bank: Fodder banks are plantings of high-quality fodder species. Their goal is to maintain healthy productive animals. They can be utilized all year, but are designed to bridge the forage scarcity of annual dry seasons. Fodder bank plants are usually trees or shrubs, and often legumes. The relatively deep roots of these woody perennials allow them to reach soil nutrients and moisture not available to grasses and herbaceous plants.

Fodder: Insect: Plants grown for useful fodder insects.

Management: Standard: Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.

Regional Crop: These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits.

Staple Crop: Oil: (0-15 percent protein, 16+ percent oil). Some of these are consumed whole while others are exclusively pressed for oil. Annuals include canola, poppyseed, maize, cottonseed, sunflower, peanut. Perennials include high-oil fruits, seeds, and nuts, such as olive, coconut, avocado, oil palm, shea, pecan, and macadamia. Some perennial oil crops are consumed whole as fruits and nuts, while others are exclusively pressed for oil (and some are used fresh and for oil).

Carbon Farming: Plants that can be a critical part of the solution to climate problems. The Carbon Farming Solution - Eric Toensmeier.

Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.

How it is grown

Plants succeed in tropical and subtropical areas, usually al low elevations but sometimes at up to 1,200 metres above sea level. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 30 - 42°c, but can tolerate 10 - 47°c. When dormant, the plant can survive temperatures down to about -4°c, but young growth can be severely damaged at -1°c. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,200 - 2,300mm, but tolerates 750 - 2,800mm. Succeeds in full sun and also in light shade. Plants are tolerant of a range of soil types, so long as they are well drained, but grow best on deep, rich, acid soils that are rich in organic matter. It grows on rather dry to occasionally swampy locations on various, often rocky, gravelly or loamy, well drained, preferable slightly acid soil. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, tolerating 5 - 7.8. A fire-resistant tree. Trees are dioecious. Male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seeds are required.

Propagating it: Seed - sow direct in thoroughly prepared soil.

Best place to grow:

Habit: Tree

Hardiness: 10-12

Growth: Slow

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: Semi-shade, no shade

Moisture: Dry, moist

Things to keep in mind

Its other names

Local names

Ai-dak, Bak kawe, Botanga, Busi, Chendala, Gausam, Gyo, Jamoa, Jendala chakota, Kaitxava, Karanchi, Khor, Kodalipulusa, Kohan, Kok khosom, Kolama, Kon, Konji, Koon, Koosambi, Kosam, Kosano, Kosum, Kosumb, Kosumba, Kula, Kusamo, Kussum, Kusum, Kusuma, Kusumb, Luk kawe, Maak kawe, Madaka-pulusu, Mai-hkao, Mai-kyang, Mavita-vitiki, Peduman, Pong roa, Pongro, Poovam, Poovathi, Posuku, Pulachi, Pulusura-marajati, Pumaratha, Pusku, Puvam, Puvathipuvam, Puvu, Rusam, Sagade kendala, Sagade-pusuku, Sama, Swad, Ta takror, Thakabti, Yun-ha

Synonyms

Cussambium oleosum O.Kuntze Melicocca trijuga Juss. Pistacia oleosa Lour. Schleichera trijuga Willd.