Peltophorum pterocarpum
(copperpod)

Preferred Common Name

• copperpod

Other Scientific Names

• Baryxylum inerme (Roxb.) Pierre
• Caesalpinia ferruginea Decne.
• Caesalpinia inermis Roxb.
• Inga pterocarpa DC.
• Peltophorum ferrugineum (Decne.) Benth.
• Peltophorum inerme (Roxb.) Naves ex Fernandez-Villar
• Peltophorum roxburghii (G. Don) O. Deg.

International Common Names

• English: copper-pod; rusty shield bearer; sagabark peltophorum; yellow flamboyant; yellow flame; yellow gold mohur; yellow poinciana

Local Common Names

• India: bonmeza; ivalvagai; ivavakai; kondacinta; perungondrai; rain tree
• Indonesia: soga; soga jambal
• Malaysia: batai laut
• Philippines: jamerelang laut; siar
• Saint Lucia: gloden flambouyant
• Thailand: krathin paa; no see; nonsi; saan ngoen
• Vietnam: lim set; trac vang

EPPO code

• PEFPT (Peltophorum pterocarpum)

Trade name

• braziletto wood

• Domain: Eukaryota
•     Kingdom: Plantae
•         Phylum: Spermatophyta
•             Subphylum: Angiospermae
•                 Class: Dicotyledonae
•                     Order: Fabales
•                         Family: Fabaceae
•                             Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
•                                 Genus: Peltophorum
•                                     Species: Peltophorum pterocarpum

The tropical genus Peltophorum, with 8 species, is a member of the legume family (Fabaceae), subfamily Caesalpinioideae. The best-known species is P. peltophorum, with the commonly used synonyms P. inerme and P. ferrugineum.

General

P. pterocarpum is a deciduous tree usually reaching a height of about 15 (-24) m, although it may attain 50 m (Lemmens and Wulijarni-Soetjipto, 1991) and a diameter of 50 (-100) cm. The bark is smooth and grey (De Guzman et al., 1986). P. pterocarpum has a dense, spreading crown (Merrill 1912; Steiner 1986). It has a deep root system (Hairiah et al., 1992), making it very windfirm (Lemmens and Wulijarni-Soetjipto, 1991).

Foliage

Leaves are large and much divided, 30-60 cm long, with 8-10 pairs of pinnae each bearing 10-20 pairs of oblong leaflets 0.8-2.5 cm long with oblique bases (De Guzman et al., 1986).

Inflorescences, flowers and fruits

The inflorescence is brown-tomentose (Merrill, 1912). Panicles are terminal with rust-coloured buds. Flowers orange-yellow, each about 2.5 cm in diameter, fragrant, particularly at night. Fruits 1-4 seeded pods, flat, thin, winged, 5-10 cm long, dark red when ripe, then turning black (De Guzman et al., 1986).

Soil drainage

• free

Soil reaction

• alkaline
• neutral

Soil texture

• light
• medium

P. pterocarpum is a fast-growing tree with multiple uses. It is of potential use for reforestation, in agroforestry farming systems and as a source of green manure. It has been tested in rotational alley-cropping/fallow systems in Sumatra, where it shows promise (Van Noordwijk et al., 1992). It is also used in urban forestry as an ornamental and shade tree because of its spreading crown and attractive and fragrant flowers which are sometimes used as cut flowers (Lemmens and Wulijarni-Soetjipto, 1991). Although the branches are prone to damage from high winds, it is widely planted in gardens, parks and as an avenue tree throughout the tropics.

Although not a commercial timber species, the wood is used locally for light construction purposes, cabinet-making, and as fuelwood (De Guzman et al., 1986; Troup and Joshi, 1983). The bark of P. pterocarpum has been an important component of the dark or black 'soga' dye in Java, used for batik work. It is also used for tanning leather, and preserving and dyeing fishing nets. In Indonesia, the bark is used for fermenting palm wine. In traditional medicine it is used as an astringent to cure or relieve intestinal disorders after pain at childbirth, sprains, bruises and swelling or as a lotion for eye troubles, muscular pains and sores (Lemmens and Wulijarni-Soetjipto, 1991; De Guzman et al., 1986). It is also used for gargles and tooth powders.

It is suitable for use as a fodder for browsing herbivores (Nag and Matai, 1992). In India, it is a source of pollen for the dammer bee Trigona iridipennis (Ramanujam et al., 1993).