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Alstonia

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Indian Devil tree (Alstonia scholaris)


Plant Characteristics
Cultivation
Scientific Names

Apocynaceae >

Alstonia >


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Alstonia is a widespread genus of evergreen trees and shrubs from the dogbane family (Apocynaceae). It was named by Robert Brown in 1811, after Charles Alston (1685-1760), Professor of botany at Edinburgh from 1716-1760.

Alstonia (devil tree) consists of about 40-60 species (according to different authors), native to tropical and subtropical Africa, Central America, southeast Asia, Polynesia and Australia, with most species in the Malesian region.

These trees can grow very large, such as Alstonia pneumatophora, recorded with a height of 60 m and a diameter of more than 2 m. Alstonia longifolia is the only species growing in Central America (mainly shrubs, but also trees 20 m high).

The leathery, sessile, simple leaves are elliptical, ovate, linear or lanceolate and wedge-shaped at the base. The leaf blade is dorsiventral, medium-sized to large and disposed oppositely or in a whorl and with entire margin. The leaf venation is pinnate, with numerous veins ending in a marginal vein.

The inflorescence is terminal or axillary, consisting of thyrsiform cymes or compound umbels. The small, more or less fragrant flowers are white, yellow, pink or green and funnel-shaped, growing on a pedicel and subtended by bracts. They consist of 5 petals and 5 sepals, arranged in four whorls. The fertile flowers are hermaphrodite. The gamosepalous green sepals consist of ovate lobes, and are distributed in one whorl. The annular disk is hypogynous. The five gamesepalous petals have oblong or ovate lobes and are disposed in one whorl. The corolla lobes overlapping to the left (such as A. rostrata) or to the right (such as A. macrophylla) in the bud. The ovary has 2 separate follicles with glabrous or ciliate, oblong seeds that develop into deep blue podlike, schizocarp fruit, between 7-40 cm long. The plants contain a milky sap, rich in poisonous alkaloids. The Alstonia macrophylla is commonly known in Sri Lanka as 'Havari nuga' or the 'wig banyan' because of its distinct flower that looks like a woman's long wig.


Read about Alstonia in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture 

Alstonia (Dr. Alston, once professor of botany at Edinburgh). Apocynaceae. Two trees of this genus are introduced in southern Florida and southern California for outdoor planting.

Corolla-tube cylindrical, usually swollen at the base, the parts spreading, usually twisted in the bud; anthers inclosed in the tube. — Between 30 and 40 species of trees or shrubs of E. India and Austral., with small white fls. in terminal cymes, and simple entire Lvs. in whorls or opposite. A. scholaris, R. Br., is the devil- tree or pali-mara of India, the bark of which is medicinal. Trees yield caoutchouc.


The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.


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Species

Alstonia has five distinct sections, each a monophyletic group; Alstonia, Blaberopus, Tonduzia, Monuraspermum, Dissuraspermum.

 
Bitter Bark (Alstonia scholaris)
  • Alstonia actinophylla (A.Cunn.) K.Schum. - Milkwood
  • Alstonia acuminata Miq.
  • Alstonia annamensis ( Monach. ) K.Sidiyasa
  • Alstonia angustifolia A.DC.
  • Alstonia balansae Guillaumin
  • Alstonia beatricis K.Sidiyasa
  • Alstonia boonei De Wild.
  • Alstonia boulindaensis Boiteau
  • Alstonia brassii Monachino
  • Alstonia breviloba K.Sidiyasa
  • Alstonia calophylla Miq.
  • Alstonia comptonii S.Moore
  • Alstonia congensis Engl.
  • Alstonia constricta F.Muell. - Bitterbark, Quinine Tree, Australian Fever Bark
  • Alstonia coriacea Pancher & S.Moore
  • Alstonia costata R.Br.
  • Alstonia cuneata Wall. & G.Don
  • Alstonia curtisii King & Gamble
  • Alstonia deplanchei Van Heurck & Müll.Arg.
  • Alstonia duerckheimianan Schltr.
  • Alstonia edulis G.Benn.
  • Alstonia elliptica J.W.Moore
  • Alstonia esquirolii H.Lév.
  • Alstonia eximia Miq.
  • Alstonia ficifolia S.Moore
  • Alstonia filipes Schltr. ex Guillaumin
  • Alstonia fragrans J.W.Moore
  • Alstonia gilletii De Wild.
  • Alstonia glabriflora Markgr.
  • Alstonia godeffroyi Reinecke
  • Alstonia grandifolia Miq.
  • Alstonia guangxiensis D.Fang & X.X.Chen
  • Alstonia henryi Tsiang
  • Alstonia iwahigensis Elmer
  • Alstonia kurzii Hook.f.
  • Alstonia lanceolata Van Heurck & Müll.Arg.
  • Alstonia lanceolifera S.Moore
  • Alstonia legouixiae Van Heurck & Müll.Arg.
  • Alstonia lenormandii Van Heurck & Müll.Arg.
  • Alstonia linearifolia Guillaumin
  • Alstonia linearis Benth.
  • Alstonia longifolia (A.DC.) Pichon
  • Alstonia longissima F.Muell.
  • Alstonia macrophylla Wall. ex G.Don - Batino, Devil Tree
  • Alstonia mairei H. Léveillé
  • Alstonia marquisensis M.L.Grant ex Fosberg & Sachet
  • Alstonia micrantha Ridl.
  • Alstonia mollis Benth.
  • Alstonia montana Turrill
  • Alstonia muelleriana Domin - Jackapple, Leatherjacket, Milky Yellowwood
  • Alstonia neriifolia D.Don.
  • Alstonia oblongifolia Merr.
  • Alstonia odontophora Boiteau
  • Alstonia pachycarpa Merr., Chun & Tsiang
  • Alstonia pangkorensis King & Gamble
  • Alstonia parvifolia Merr.
  • Alstonia paucinervia Merr.
  • Alstonia paupera (synonym of A. mairei)
  • Alstonia penangiana K.Sidiyasa
  • Alstonia plumosa Labill.
  • Alstonia pneumatophora Backer ex L.G.Den Berger
  • Alstonia polyphylla Miq.
  • Alstonia quaternata Van Heurck & Müll.Arg.
  • Alstonia reineckeana Lauterb.
  • Alstonia retusa S.Moore
  • Alstonia roeperi Van Heurck & Müll.Arg.
  • Alstonia rostrata C.E.C.Fischer
  • Alstonia rubiginosa K.Sidiyasa
  • Alstonia rupestris Kerr
  • Alstonia saligna S.Moore
  • Alstonia scholaris (L.) R.Br. - Pali-mari, Dita Bark, Bitter Bark, Milkwood, Milky Bean, Milky Pine, White Cheesewood, Blackboard Tree
  • Alstonia sericea Blume
  • Alstonia setchelliana Christoph.
  • Alstonia smithii Markgr.
  • Alstonia somersetensis F.M.Bailey
  • Alstonia spathulifolia Guillaumin
  • Alstonia spatulata Blume - Hard Milkwood, Siamese Balsa
  • Alstonia spectabilis R.Br. - Poele Bark, Jackapple, Leatherjacket, Milky Yellowwood
  • Alstonia sphaerocapitata Boiteau
  • Alstonia stenophylla Guillaumin
  • Alstonia subsessilis Miq.
  • Alstonia twahigensis
  • Alstonia undulata Guillaumin
  • Alstonia undulifolia K.M.Kochummen & K.M.Wong
  • Alstonia venenata R.Br.
  • Alstonia verticillosa F.Muell.
  • Alstonia vieillardii Van Heurck & Müll.Arg.
  • Alstonia villosa Blume
  • Alstonia vitiensis Seem.
  • Alstonia yunnanensis Diels

Gallery

  • photo 1

  • photo 2

  • photo 3

References

  • Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
  • Recent taxonomy of Alstonia (pdf file).
  • Kade Sidiyasa. Taxonomy, phylogeny, and wood anatomy of Alstonia (Apocynaceae). 230 pp. Blumea, Suppl. 11 (1998), ISBN 90-71236-35-8. (Awarded with the Engler Medal by the International Association for Plant Taxonomy)
  • Kade Sidiyasa, A., 3, 1992. A monograph of Alstonia (Apocynaceae).
  • Forster, Paul I. - A taxonomic revision of Alstonia (Apocynaceae) in Australia (1992)

External links


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