English Lao
Botanical descriptions Habitat and ecology Distribution
| Diagnostic characters : | Large deciduous or evergreen trees, bark lenticellate to scaly flaky, exudates red-brown. Flowers bisexual, pea-like, Flowers white, calyx hairy. Fruit a thick pod. |
| Habit : | Deciduous or evergreen tree up to 8 m. tall, about 15 cm. in DBH; branches ascending or horizontal to main trunk. |
| Trunk & bark : | Trunk lenticellate, scaly flaky, bark blackish brown or dark brownish-red, inner bark c.1 cm. thick, pale brown to reddish brown. |
| Branches and branchlets or twigs : | Branches pubescent, brownish when dry, lenticellate. |
| Exudates : | Reddish-brown sap. |
| Leaves : | Imparipinnately compound leave, alternate, crowded at the apex of branchelets, leaflets opposite 9, oblong elliptic, 1-3 X 4-6 cm. in length, apex acute- acuminate, base acute, margin entire, young leaves reddish-brown, blade coriaceous and glabrous on upper surface, lower surface pubescent. The veins prominent below, primary vein single, secondary veins obtuse, about 6 pairs, tertiary veins indistinctly reticulate. Rachis hairy 2-4 cm. long, thick at base, and petiolule swollen from base to tip, up to 3 mm. long. |
| Inflorescences or flowers : | Inflorescence are peduncle, terminal, pubescent, up to 20-25 cm. long. Flowers white grouped at the top of inflorescence, pubescent, pedicel about 3-4 mm. long, calyx dark brown hairy. |
| Fruits : | Fruit is a thick pod, cylindrical, elliptic-ovate 1-2 X 2-3 cm in length, thick walled, glabrous. Red on the outer surface then blackish-brown. Later dehiscent into 2 valves. . |
| Seeds : | One to two. Scarlet red. |