Dipterocarpus

<i>Dipterocarpus</i>

Dipterocarpus

Genus of trees

Dipterocarpus is a genus of flowering plants and the type genus of family Dipterocarpaceae.

Quick Facts Scientific classification ...
D. retusus in Köhler

Dipterocarpus is the third-largest and most diverse genus among the Dipterocarpaceae. The species are well known for timber, but less acknowledged for use in traditional herbal medicine.[1] The genus has about 70 species,[2] occurring in South Asia and Southeast Asia, from Sri Lanka and India to the Philippines.[3] It is an important component of dipterocarp forests. Its generic name comes from Greek and means "two-winged fruits".

The greatest diversity of Dipterocarpus species occurs on Borneo, with many endemic to the island. The oldest fossil of the genus, and Dipterocarpaceae, is from the latest Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Intertrappean Beds of India.[4]

Uses

The genus is of considerable importance as timber trees and for producing resinous oil. The oil is sold under the trade names gurjun oil, kanyin oil, wood oil, and Keruing oil.[5] D. turbinatus, gurjan, is a major commercial timber species found in the Andaman islands. Gurjan wood is very important for making plywood.

Accepted species

There are 65 accepted species:[6]

References

  1. [1]
    Christophe Wiart (2006). Medicinal Plants of the Asia-Pacific: Drugs for the Future?. World Scientific.
  2. [2]
    "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species".
  3. [3]
    Ashton, P. S. (2003), Kubitzki, Klaus; Bayer, Clemens (eds.), "Dipterocarpaceae", Flowering Plants · Dicotyledons: Malvales, Capparales and Non-betalain Caryophyllales, The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants, Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer, pp. 182–197, doi:10.1007/978-3-662-07255-4_20, ISBN 978-3-662-07255-4, retrieved 2021-07-02
  4. [4]
    Khan, Mahasin Ali; Spicer, Robert A.; Spicer, Teresa E. V.; Roy, Kaustav; Hazra, Manoshi; Hazra, Taposhi; Mahato, Sumana; Kumar, Sanchita; Bera, Subir (2020-11-03). "Dipterocarpus (Dipterocarpaceae) leaves from the K-Pg of India: a Cretaceous Gondwana presence of the Dipterocarpaceae". Plant Systematics and Evolution. 306 (6): 90. doi:10.1007/s00606-020-01718-z. ISSN 1615-6110.
  5. [5]
    MD(Ayu), Dr J. V. Hebbar (2015-05-24). "Ashwakarna - Dipterocarpus turbinatus Uses, Research, Side Effects". Easy Ayurveda. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
  6. [6]
    Dipterocarpus C.F.Gaertn. Plants of the World Online, Kew Science. Accessed 4 March 2023.
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