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Alstonia scholaris
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Alstonia scholaris
Alstonia scholaris, commonly called blackboard tree, scholar tree, milkwood or devil's tree in English, is an evergreen tree in the oleander and frangipani family Apocynaceae. Its natural range is from Pakistan to China, and south to northern Australia. It is a toxic plant, but is used traditionally for myriad diseases and complaints. It is called 'Saptaparna' in India and is the sacred tree of the 2nd Jain tirthankar Ajitnatha.[not verified in body] It was first described by Linnaeus in 1767, who gave it the name Echites scholaris.
Alstonia scholaris is a large tree growing up to 40 m (130 ft) tall (rarely to 60 m), with narrow buttressess that extend well up the trunk, giving it a fluted appearance. The bark is gray to pale gray with numerous lenticels, and all parts of the plant exude copious amounts of white sap when broken or cut.[excessive citations]
The leaves are glossy dark green above and pale below, and they are arranged in whorls of four to eight, with petioles (leaf stalks) around 5–15 mm (0.20–0.59 in) long. The leaves are usually obovate (i.e. broadest near the apex) to elliptic, tapering towards the base and with a rounded tip, and there are 25 to 40 pairs of lateral veins at 80–90° to the midvein.[excessive citations]
The inflorescences are much branched (cymose), with peduncles up to 7 cm (2.8 in) long, and are produced at the ends of the branches. The small tubular flowers are cream or white and strongly scented. They are about 10 mm (0.39 in) long and wide, with five ovate lobes. The calyx is about 2 mm (0.08 in) long, and the flower stalks are usually as long as or shorter. The corolla is white and tube-like, 6–10 mm (0.2–0.4 in) long. The lobes are broadly ovate or broadly obovate, 2–4.5 mm (0.08–0.2 in), overlapping to the left.[excessive citations]
The fruit is a pair of long papery follicles measuring up to about 30 cm (12 in) long and 6 mm (0.24 in) diameter. They contain numerous flat, brown seeds about 5 mm (0.20 in) long and 1.2 mm (0.05 in) wide, which have long tufts of hairs at each end.[excessive citations]
This plant was originally named Echites scholaris by Carl Linnaeus in 1767. The Scottish botanist Robert Brown transferred it to the genus Alstonia in 1810, as part of his work on the taxonomy of Apocynaceae.
The genus was named in honour of botanist Charles Alston, and the species epithet scholaris is a reference to the traditional use of the timber of this tree for blackboards in Myanmar.
Alstonia scholaris grows in a broad range of habitats in tropical and subtropical areas, in a range of forest types from rainforest to savannah, on a variety of soils including alluvial, volcanic and metamorphic, and at altitudes from sea level to more than 1,000 m (3,300 ft).
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Alstonia scholaris
Alstonia scholaris, commonly called blackboard tree, scholar tree, milkwood or devil's tree in English, is an evergreen tree in the oleander and frangipani family Apocynaceae. Its natural range is from Pakistan to China, and south to northern Australia. It is a toxic plant, but is used traditionally for myriad diseases and complaints. It is called 'Saptaparna' in India and is the sacred tree of the 2nd Jain tirthankar Ajitnatha.[not verified in body] It was first described by Linnaeus in 1767, who gave it the name Echites scholaris.
Alstonia scholaris is a large tree growing up to 40 m (130 ft) tall (rarely to 60 m), with narrow buttressess that extend well up the trunk, giving it a fluted appearance. The bark is gray to pale gray with numerous lenticels, and all parts of the plant exude copious amounts of white sap when broken or cut.[excessive citations]
The leaves are glossy dark green above and pale below, and they are arranged in whorls of four to eight, with petioles (leaf stalks) around 5–15 mm (0.20–0.59 in) long. The leaves are usually obovate (i.e. broadest near the apex) to elliptic, tapering towards the base and with a rounded tip, and there are 25 to 40 pairs of lateral veins at 80–90° to the midvein.[excessive citations]
The inflorescences are much branched (cymose), with peduncles up to 7 cm (2.8 in) long, and are produced at the ends of the branches. The small tubular flowers are cream or white and strongly scented. They are about 10 mm (0.39 in) long and wide, with five ovate lobes. The calyx is about 2 mm (0.08 in) long, and the flower stalks are usually as long as or shorter. The corolla is white and tube-like, 6–10 mm (0.2–0.4 in) long. The lobes are broadly ovate or broadly obovate, 2–4.5 mm (0.08–0.2 in), overlapping to the left.[excessive citations]
The fruit is a pair of long papery follicles measuring up to about 30 cm (12 in) long and 6 mm (0.24 in) diameter. They contain numerous flat, brown seeds about 5 mm (0.20 in) long and 1.2 mm (0.05 in) wide, which have long tufts of hairs at each end.[excessive citations]
This plant was originally named Echites scholaris by Carl Linnaeus in 1767. The Scottish botanist Robert Brown transferred it to the genus Alstonia in 1810, as part of his work on the taxonomy of Apocynaceae.
The genus was named in honour of botanist Charles Alston, and the species epithet scholaris is a reference to the traditional use of the timber of this tree for blackboards in Myanmar.
Alstonia scholaris grows in a broad range of habitats in tropical and subtropical areas, in a range of forest types from rainforest to savannah, on a variety of soils including alluvial, volcanic and metamorphic, and at altitudes from sea level to more than 1,000 m (3,300 ft).
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