''Pterocarpus'' is a pantropical tree

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

in the

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

family. It belongs to the subfamily

Faboideae The Faboideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. An acceptable alternative name for the subfamily is Papilionoideae, or Papilionaceae when this group of plants is treated as a family. This subfamily is widely ...

, and was recently assigned to the informal

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

''Pterocarpus'' clade within the Dalbergieae. Most species of ''Pterocarpus'' yield valuable timber traded as padauk (or padouk), usually pronounced or ; other common names are mukwa or narra. The west African species may be traded as African rosewood. '' P. santalinus'' also yields the most precious red sandalwood in China known as Zitan. The wood from the narra tree ('' P. indicus'') and the Burmese padauk tree ('' P. macrocarpus'') is marketed as amboyna when it has grown in the

burl A burl (American English) or burr (British English) is a tree growth in which the grain has grown in a deformed manner. It is commonly found in the form of a rounded outgrowth on a tree trunk or branch that is filled with small knots from d ...

form. The

scientific name In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

ized

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

and means "wing fruit", referring to the unusual shape of the seed pods in this genus.

Uses

Padauk wood is obtained from several

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of ''Pterocarpus''. All padauks are of African or Asian origin. Padauks are valued for their toughness, stability in use, and decorativeness, most having a reddish wood. Most
Pterocarpus
' woods contain either water- or alcohol-soluble substances and can be used as

dye Juan de Guillebon, better known by his stage name DyE, is a French musician. He is known for the music video of the single "Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical ele ...

s. The padauk found most often is African padauk from '' P. soyauxii'' which, when freshly cut, is a very bright red/orange but when exposed to sunlight fades over time to a warm brown. Its colour makes it a favourite among woodworkers. Burmese padauk (ပိတောက်) is '' P. macrocarpus'' while Andaman padauk is '' P. dalbergioides''. Padauks can be confused with true rosewoods to which they are somewhat related, but as a general rule padauks are coarser and less decorative in figure. Like rosewood, padauk is sometimes used to make xylophone,

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

and

marimba The marimba ( ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the mari ...

keys, and guitars. It is an important material in traditional Chinese furniture. African Padauk wood

Some padauks, e.g. ''P. soyauxii'', are used as

herbal medicine Herbal medicine (also called herbalism, phytomedicine or phytotherapy) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. Scientific evidence for the effectiveness of many herbal treatments ...

s, for example to treat skin parasites and fungal infections. Padauk wood is also used as a

spice In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...

, for example in Swedish soused herring.

Chemistry

Pterocarpin is a pterocarpan found in ''Pterocarpus'' spp.

Species

A total of 35

is currently accepted: * '' Pterocarpus acapulcensis'' Rose * '' Pterocarpus albopubescens'' Hauman * '' Pterocarpus amazonum'' (Benth.) Amshoff * '' Pterocarpus angolensis'' DC.— kiaat * '' Pterocarpus antunesii'' (Taub.) Harms * '' Pterocarpus brenanii'' Barbosa & Torre * '' Pterocarpus claessensii'' De Wild. * '' Pterocarpus dalbergioides'' DC.— Andaman padauk, Andaman redwood, East Indian mahogany *'' Pterocarpus dubius'' – Venezuela, Guyana, and northern Brazil * '' Pterocarpus echinatus'' Pers. * '' Pterocarpus erinaceus'' Poir.— muninga, barwood, vène * '' Pterocarpus gilletii'' De Wild. * '' Pterocarpus hockii'' De Wild. * '' Pterocarpus homblei'' De Wild. * '' Pterocarpus indicus'' Willd.— Pashu padauk, Malay padauk, New Guinea rosewood * '' Pterocarpus lucens'' Guill. & Perr. * '' Pterocarpus macrocarpus'' Kurz— Burmese padauk * '' Pterocarpus marsupium'' Roxb.— Indian kino, Malabar kino, benga, bijiayasal (w Nepal), venkai * '' Pterocarpus mildbraedii'' Harms * '' Pterocarpus mutondo'' De Wild. * '' Pterocarpus officinalis'' Jacq. * '' Pterocarpus orbiculatus'' DC. * '' Pterocarpus osun'' Craib * '' Pterocarpus rohrii'' Vahl * '' Pterocarpus rotundifolius'' (Sond.) Druce ** subsp. ''polyanthus'' (Harms) Mendonça & E. P. Sousa *** var. ''martinii'' (Dunkley) Mendonça & E. P. Sousa *** var. ''polyanthus'' (Harms) Mendonça & E. P. Sousa ** subsp. ''rotundifolius'' (Sond.) Druce * '' Pterocarpus santalinoides'' DC.— mututi * ''

Pterocarpus santalinus ''Pterocarpus santalinus'', with the common names red sanders, red saunders, Yerra Chandanam, Chenchandanam, red sandalwood, Rakta Chandana, and rakto chandon, is a species of ''Pterocarpus'' endemism, endemic to the southern Eastern Ghats moun ...

'' L. f.— red sandalwood, red sanders * '' Pterocarpus soyauxii'' Taub.— African padauk, African coralwood * '' Pterocarpus ternatus'' Rizzini * '' Pterocarpus tessmannii'' Harms * '' Pterocarpus tinctorius'' Welw. * '' Pterocarpus velutinus'' De Wild. * '' Pterocarpus villosus'' (Benth.) Benth. * '' Pterocarpus violaceus'' Vogel * '' Pterocarpus zehntneri'' Harms * '' Pterocarpus zenkeri'' Harms

Notes

: Some sources treat ''P. echinatus'' as a synonym of ''P. indicus''.

References

External links

{{Authority control Fabaceae genera Medicinal plants Pantropical flora Taxa named by Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin Plant dyes