Urunday
Astronium urundeuva

Family: Anacardiaceae

What it is like

Urunday, Astronium urundeuva, is a deciduous tree with a pyramid-shaped crown. It grows up to 20-25 meters tall with up to 80 cm bole diameter. Urunday is used as a medicinal plant. In particular, its bark, including the resin it produces, are used against various pulmonary conditions, kidney problems, stomach ulcers, haemoptysis, uterine bleeding, colitis, and for post-natal vaginal washes. Recent studies have shown that Urunday have potential as treatment of nerve-degenerative diseases like Parkinson's disease. The wood is very heavy, durable, and strong. It is a source of muiracatiara timber.

Astronium urundeuva is a deciduous Tree growing to 10 m (32ft) by 8 m (26ft) at a medium rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Height (m): 10

Where it is found

Rainforests in moist areas and open, stunted woodland in arid areas. Dryland forests and savannahs.

S. America - northern Argentina, Paraguay, eastern, central and northeastern Brazil, Bolivia.

Conservation Status: Data Deficient

Countries/locations it is found in

Coming Soon

How it is used

Food

Rating: 0

Medicine

Rating: 4

The bark, and the resin obtained from it, are balsamic and haemostatic. They are used in the treatment of pulmonary complaints, kidney problems, haemoptysis, metrorrhagia, for post-natal vaginal washes, stomach ulcers and colitis. The resin is also tonic. Research has shown that both aqueous and alcohol extracts of the bark strongly inhibit gastric ulceration. Extracts of the bark have been shown to exert a neuro-protective effect and could provide benefits, along with other therapies, in neurodegenerative injuries, such as Parkinson's disease.

Balsamic: A healing and soothing agent.

Haemostatic: Controls internal bleeding.

Kidney: Used in the treatment of kidney diseases

Tonic: Improves general health. Slower acting than a stimulant, it brings steady improvement.

Other

Rating: 3

Other uses rating: Medium (3/5). Other Uses The cherry-red to dark-brownish red wood is very heavy, very durable and strong. It is an excellent timber for external work, being used for railroad ties, telegraph posts, bridge timbers, posts and piles. The wood is a source of muiracatiara timber. We have no more specific information, but a general description of muiracatiara timber is as follows: The heartwood is pinkish-brown to yellow-brown, becoming red-brown to dark brown with very irregularly spaced black-brown veins; it is clearly demarcated from the 4 - 10cm wide band of sapwood. The texture is fine; the grain straight or interlocked. The wood is heavy, hard and very durable, being resistant to fungi, dry wood borers and termites. It seasons normally with little risk of checking or distortion; once dry it is poorly stable in service. It has a fairly high blunting effect upon toold, stellite-tipped and tungsten carbide tools are recommended; nailing and screwing are good, but pre-boring is necessary; gluing is poor. The wood has a wide range of applications, being used in cabinet making for high class furniture, for flooring, turnery, interior and exterior joinery, heavy carpentry, tool handles, musical instruments, carving etc.

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

Resin: Used in perfumery, medicines, paints, soap making etc. This also includes turpentine, which is extracted from many resins and used as a preservative, water proofer etc,

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

How it is grown

A plant of the warm temperate zone to the tropics, where it can succeed in semi-arid to moist regions with 2,000mm of rain per year. Prefers a sunny position in a well-drained soil. In different silvicultural trials, trees of 3 years have attained a height of 1.7 metres; trees of 5 years have attained a height of 5.11 metres; and trees of 9 years have attained a height of 9.6 metres with a bole diameter of 97mm.

Propagating it: Seed - it does not need pre-treatment and is best sown as soon as it is ripe in a semi-shaded nursery bed. A germination rate of more than 80% is normally achieved within 8 - 18 days. The seedlings grow away quickly.

Best place to grow:

Habit: Tree

Hardiness: 10-12

Growth: Medium

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

Shade: No shade

Moisture: Dry, moist

Things to keep in mind

Its other names

Local names

Urunday, Astronium urundeuva. Portuguese common names: aroeira-do-sert‹o, urundeœva, aroeira preta, urindeœva, arindeœva.

Synonyms

Myracrodruon urundeuva Allem?o