Portia Tree, Aden Apple, Indian Tulip Tree
Thespesia populnea

Family: Malvaceae

What it is like

Thespesia populnea, otherwise known as Portia Tree, Eden Apple, Pacific Rosewood, or Indian Tulip Tree, is a flowering species belonging in the Malvaceae family. It is a small tree or shrub reaching a height of about 10 m and up to 60 cm in trunk diameter upon maturity. It is fast-growing and its bole is short and often crooked. The leaves are thin, bluish green, and broadly heart-shaped. The flowers are yellow, bell-shaped, and occur singly. Fruits are rounded capsules. The root is toxic. Fully established plants are highly tolerant to drought, strong winds, and saline conditions. Such characteristics make this species suitable for coastal erosion control. Young leaves, flowers, and flower buds can be eaten raw or cooked. The fruits are preserved and eaten. Unripe fruits are eaten raw or cooked as a vegetable. Plant parts of Portia tree, particularly the bark, root, leaves, flowers, and fruits, are all used in traditional medicine against a wide range of conditions like pleurisy, cholera, colic, fevers, herpes, urinary tract problems, abdominal swellings, hair lice, swollen testicles, rheumatism, coughs, influenza, headaches, skin diseases, hemorrhoids, colds, etc. The bark is a source of tannins. It also yields a strong fiber used for cordage, fishing lines, coffee bags, and for caulking boats. Seed oil can be used in lamps. The wood, fruits, flowers, and leaves all yield dye. Fruits, flowers, and bark also yield gums. The leaves are used as food wrapper. The wood is highly valued for light construction, flooring moulds, musical instruments, utensils, vehicle bodies, boat building, fuel, etc.

Thespesia populnea is an evergreen Tree growing to 10 m (32ft) by 12 m (39ft) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10 and is frost tender. The flowers are pollinated by Birds. It is noted for attracting wildlife. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline and saline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Height (m): 10

Where it is found

Sea coasts, often where sandy beaches covered by Casuarina equestifolia give way to coral outcrops. Also on rocky coasts and occasionally on the inland edge of mangrove swamp.

Probably originating in the Asiatic tropics, the plant is now pantropical in range.

Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed

Countries/locations it is found in

Cambodia; China; India; Indonesia; Japan; Malaysia; Myanmar; Philippines; Sri Lanka; Taiwan, Province of China; Viet Nam; Thailand; Bahamas; Cayman Islands; Cuba; Dominican Republic; Haiti; Jamaica; Puerto Rico; Virgin Islands, U.S.; Virgin Islands, British; Anguilla; Antigua and Barbuda; Barbados; Dominica; Grenada; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Guadeloupe; Martinique; Montserrat; Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba; Saint Bathélemy; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Martin (French part); Aruba; Curaçao; Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of; Trinidad and Tobago; Colombia; Bolivia, Plurinational State of; Panama; Costa Rica; Nicaragua; Honduras; Belize; Mexico; Senegal; Ghana; Benin; Togo; Australia; Nigeria; Eritrea; Kenya; Mozambique; Madagascar; Comoros; Mayotte; Seychelles; Gabon?; Mauritius; Réunion; Somalia; Tanzania, United Republic of; Pakistan; Cocos (Keeling) Islands; American Samoa; Samoa; Solomon Islands; Vanuatu; Fiji; Tonga; Cook Islands, Africa, Andamans, Asia, Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Caribbean, Central America, China, Cuba, East Africa, East Timor, Fiji, Ghana, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kiribati, Lesser Antilles, Malaysia, Marianas, Mexico*, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Nigeria, Niue, North America, Northeastern India, Pacific, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Samoa, SE Asia, Solomon Islands, Southern Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Tahiti, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, USA, Vanuatu, Vietnam, West Africa, West Indies*, Yap, Zimbabwe,

How it is used

Food

Rating: 3

Young leaves - raw or cooked. Eaten as a vegetable, they can also be boiled or added to soups. Flowers and flower buds - raw or cooked. Fruits - preserved and eaten. The unripe fruits are eaten raw, boiled or fried as a vegetable.

Gum: can be chewed as a chewing gum or can often be used as a sweetener or thickening agent in foods.

Medicine

Rating: 3

Portia tree is often used in traditional medicine, where the bark, root, leaves, flowers and fruits are all used to treat a range of ailments. There has been some research into its properties, which tends to support these traditional uses. The heartwood contains several sesquiterpenoid quinones, including mansonone D and H, thespone and thespesone, which are known to induce contact dermatitis, to inhibit tumour formation and to have antifungal properties. The heartwood and other plant parts contain gossypol. The fruits and leaves contain compounds with antibacterial activity, whereas methanolic extracts of the flower buds have shown antifungal activity. Ethanol extracts of the flower have shown antihepatotoxic activity. Aqueous extracts of the fruit have shown wound-healing activity in rats after topical or oral administration. The seed oil has anti-amoebic activity. The heartwood is carminative. It is useful in treating pleurisy, cholera, colic and high fevers. The fruit juice is used to treat herpes. The crushed fruit is used in a treatment for urinary tract problems and abdominal swellings. The cooked fruit, crushed in coconut oil, provides a salve, which, if applied to the hair, will kill lice. An extract of the fruit is applied to swollen testicles. A leaf tea is taken as a treatment for rheumatism and urinary retention. A decoction of the leaves is used in treating coughs, influenza, headache and relapses in illnesses. The leaf sap, and decoctions of most parts of the plant, are used externally to treat various skin diseases. Juices from the pounded fruits, mixed with pounded leaves are used in a poultice to treat headaches and itches. A decoction of the bark and fruit is mixed with oil and used to treat scabies. A decoction of the astringent bark is used to treat dysentery and haemorrhoids, and a maceration of it is drunk for colds. A cold infusion of the bark is used in treating dysentery, diabetes, gonorrhoea, yellow urine, and thrush. Indigestion, pelvic infection, dysmenorrhoea, infertility, secondary amenorrhoea, appetite loss, ulcers and worms are also treated with the bark. The inner bark is used to treat constipation and typhoid. The stem is employed in treating breast cancer. Other extracts of the plant have significant antimalarial activity. Leaf and bark decoctions are taken as a remedy for high blood pressure. Seeds are purgative.

Antibacterial: Kills bacteria.

Antifungal: An agent that inhibits or destroys fungi. Used in the treatment of various fungal problems such as candida.

Antihaemorrhoidal: Treats haemorrhoids (piles). This would probably be best added to another heading.

Antirheumatic: Treats rheumatism.

Cancer: Used in the treatment of cancer.

Carminative: Reduces flatulence and expels gas from the intestines.

Cholera: Used in the treatment of cholera - an acute diarrheal illness caused by infection of the intestine with Vibrio cholerae bacteria.

Dysentery: Used in treating dysentery - an infection of the intestines that causes diarrhoea containing blood or mucus.

Febrifuge: Reduces fevers.

Hypotensive: Reduces blood pressure, it is used in the treatment of high blood pressure

Laxative: Stimulates bowel movements in a fairly gentle manner.

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

Parasiticide: Treats external parasites such as ringworm This should perhaps be joined with Parasiticide in

Poultice: A moist, usually warm or hot, mass of plant material applied to the skin in the treatment of burns etc.

Purgative: A drastic laxative causing a cleansing or watery evacuation of the bowels, usually with a griping pain.

Skin: Plants used in miscellaneous treatments for the skin.

Urinary: Treats urinary problems, including urinary tract infection (UTI).

Other

Rating: 4

Seaside tree. Small shade tree. Coastal screening. Hedging, Xerophytic. Agroforestry Uses: The tree is valuable as a coastal windbreak because it is highly resistant to wind and salt spray and grows well in sandy, saline soils. Because of this tolerance of saline conditions, the plant is suitable for coastal erosion control, and is planted for this purpose, often as a living fence, in Karnataka, India and the Pacifci Islands. It has been planted to provide support for vanilla plants. Chippings of the plant have been tried as a green manure. Other Uses The tough, fibrous bark yields a strong fibre used for cordage, fishing lines, coffee bags and for caulking boats An oil is obtained from the seed. It can be used in lamps. The wood, soaked in water, yields a solution that is used in Asia to dye wool deep brown. The fruit and flowers yield a water-soluble yellowish dye. A black dye can be obtained from the leaves. The bark is a source of tannins. A gum is obtained from the fruit and flowers. A thick gum, which is not soluble in water, is obtained from the bark. The leaves are used for wrapping food. The heartwood is reddish brown to dark brown or black, often with purple veining; it is sharply demarcated from the 1 - 2cm wide band of white to pale yellow or pale pink sapwood that darkens upon exposure. The wood is fine-grained; medium to fine-textured; it shows slight ribbon figure on quartersawn faces. Freshly cut wood has a rose-like smell. The wood is strong, hard, light to medium in weight; very durable, even when in contact with water or the ground, and resistant to insect attack. It seasons well, and does not warp or check; shrinkage upon seasoning is very low to low. The wood is easy to saw and work, despite its wavy grain; it turns well in both green and dry conditions; can be finished to an attractive polish; paints well; gluing properties are poor to medium. The wood contains an oil which slows down drying of varnishes. A very handsome and valuable wood, looking somewhat like chocolate and vanilla swirled togethe, it is used for a wide range of purposes where quality is more important than size, including traditional bowls, artefacts, gunstocks, jewellery, furniture, plates and utensils, horse-drawn carts and wheelbarrows, to carve canoe paddles. It is also used for light construction, flooring moulds, musical instruments, utensils and vehicle bodies. Since it is very durable under water, it is popular for boat building. The wood is used for fuel.

Dye: Plants that provide dyes.

Fencing: Plants that can be used for fencing.

Fibre: Used for making cloth, rope, paper etc.

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

Furniture: A few miscellaneous uses that do not fit easily into other headings.

Green manure: Fast-growing plants that can be used to increase the fertility of the soil.

Gum: Gums have a wide range of uses, especially as stabilizers, emulsifiers, thickening agents, adhesives etc.

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

Hedge: Plants that can be grown as hedges.

Insecticide: Kills insects.

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

Parasiticide: Kills external body parasites such as hair lice.

Plant support: Usually bamboos, used as canes in the garden for holding up plants.

Shelterbelt: Wind resistant plants than can be grown to provide shelter in the garden etc.

Soil stabilization: Plants that can be grown in places such as sand dunes in order to prevent erosion by wind, water or other agents.

String: Plants that can be used for string or can be easily made into a string. See also Fibre. Plants for ropes may be included.

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

Waterproofing: Does what it says. See also Pitch and Oil.

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

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

Hedge: Hedge

How it is grown

Portia tree is a plant of the moist to wet, lowland tropics and warm subtropics, where it is found at elevations up to 150 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 20 - 30°c, but can tolerate 10 - 35°c. The plant can survive temperatures down to about 4°c and the occasional very light frost. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,000 - 3,000mm, but tolerates 800 - 5,000mm. Prefers a moisture-retentive but well-drained soil and a position in full sun. It also succeeds in dry locations and is highly tolerant of saline conditions. Prefers a pH in the range 6.5 - 8, tolerating 6 - 8.5. Established plants are very drought resistant and can tolerate a dry season of up to 8 months. Tolerant of occasional, short-lived inundation. Plants are very wind-tolerant, withstanding even salt-laden winds. The plant produces its seeds in a waterproof capsule that can float for a considerable time in salt water without losing viability. Thus it has managed to spread to the coasts of most areas of the tropics. It has the potential to become a weed in new areas, so should not be introduced to areas outside its current range. This species is often eradicated when found growing in cotton-producing areas, since it harbours the cotton-stainer beetle (Dysdercus spp.) which is a pest of the cotton plant. Growth in height is rapid in the first few years, averaging 50 - 150cm per year, but it slows down when the tree is 7 - 10 years old. Stem diameter growth is 1 - 3cm per year. Flowering can begin when the tree is only 1 - 2 years old. In equatorial climates the plant will often flower all year round. Flowering Time: Late Spring/Early Summer. Bloom Color: Coral/Apricot Maroon (Purple-Brown).

Propagating it: Seed - generally easy, although direct sowings are generally a failure. Germination can be difficult due to the hard seed coat, and is improved by scarification with a knife or sandpaper. Germination takes 8 - 70 days. Pot the seedlings up as soon as they are large enough to handle, planting them in pots deep enough to accomodate the taproot. Plants should be ready to plant out in 12 - 16 weeks. Raising from seed is preferred as then the timber is knot free, straight, even grained and tough. Cuttings of all sizes strike well, but it is preferable to plant small cuttings as trees raised from large cuttings are said to be short lived and liable to decay.

Best place to grow:

Habit: Tree

Hardiness: 10-12

Growth: Fast

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

Shade: No shade

Moisture: Dry, moist

Things to keep in mind

The root is toxic. The heartwood contains several sesquiterpenoid quinones, including mansonone D and H, thespone and thespesone, which are known to induce contact dermatitis.

It has the potential to become a weed in new areas, so should not be introduced to areas outside its current range. This species is often eradicated when found growing in cotton-producing areas, since it harbours the cotton-stainer beetle (Dysdercus spp.) which is a pest of the cotton plant.

Its other names

Local names

Indian Tulip Tree; Portia Tree; Pacific Rosewood, Adavi-bendi, Badrirt, Baku, Banalo, Bang-beng, Baru-baru, Bebaru, Bhendi-ke-jhar, Bhendi, Cheelanthi, Dumbla, False rosewood, Frefi, Gajadanda, Gajashuni, Gan suriya, Gangaraavi, Gangareenu, Gardha-bhanda, Gunjausto, Hoovarase, Indian tulip tree, Jogiyarale, Kandarola, Kilulo, Mi'o, Milo, Miro, Mulomulo, Munigangaraavi, Onovaro, Paarsapeepala, Palaopipal, Panu, Pararspipal, Paras pipal, Paras-pipal, Parash pipal, Parespipal, Parsacha-jhada, Parsipu, Po tale, Polo, Poovarasam kallal, Poovarasu, Porosopippoli, Portia tree, Porush, Purau, Seaside mahoe, Te bingibing, Umbrella tree, Waru lot, ammai, arbre ombrelle, bela-sombra, bendytree, bois de rose, bois de rose d'océanie, bwadroz, chilanti, corktree, gajashundi, ganyaraavi, gardabhanda, gardabhandah, gardabha??a?, huvarasi, indian tuliptree, kalfata, kandarala, kapitan, kapitana, kapitana (stem bark), küsten-tropeneibisch, mahoe, milo, motel debou, mtakawa, munigangaraavi, paaraspipal, paaraspipalo, pacific rosewood, paraasapipula, parasa pimpala, parisah, pau-rosa, phalisa-chhal, phalisah, phalisa?, polynesian rosewood, porcher, porché, porlia-tree, portia tree, portia-tree, punarasu, punavasu, pupparutti, puvarasa, puviraca?, pari?ah, puvaracam pa??ai (stem bark), pu?am, seaside mahoe, seyche, tarapati, tulip tree|gansuriya, umbrella tree, valirano, valo, valorao, varo.

Synonyms

Abelmoschus acuminatus (Alef.) M?ll.Berol Azanza acuminata Alef Bupariti populnea (L.) Rothm. Hibisc