Pentace burmanica — Edible Plant Database

What to Eat

Edible parts: Bark

The tannin-rich bak is used as a masticatory and is said to improve the health of the teeth and gums.

Where to Find It

A tropical plant. They are found in evergreen forests.

Asia, Indochina, Laos, Myanmar, SE Asia, Thailand,

Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Brunei, Bhutan, China, Georgia, Indonesia, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mongolia, Maldives, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Philippines, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen

How to Identify

A large tree. It grows up to 30 m high. The branches and young plant parts are hairy. They are reddish-brown. The leaves are oval. They are heart shaped at the base. They are 10-15 cm long by 5-8 cm wide. The leaf stalk is 1-2 cm long. The flower panicles can be at the ends of branches or in the axils of leaves. They are 5-8 cm long. The flowers have a bell shaped ring of sepals. The fruit is a capsule which is oblong. There are 5 wings along it. They are 4-5 cm long by 5-5.5 cm wide. There is one seed.

How to Grow

A fast-growing tree.

Other Uses

The bark is a rich source of tannins. A resin is obtained from the tree. The wood is of a light brownish-yellow colour, similar to that of Cuba mahogany when first cut, and possessing as great transverse and tensile strength. It has a close, fine, hard grain; stands well under all conditions, and takes a very fine surface from the moulding machine or the machine plane; so much so, that a wood-worker reported that he had used all kinds of mahogany for fifty years, and preferred the Burma to all other sorts. It is a splendid wood for chairs, decorative woodwork, ships' furniture generally, mainly on account of its exceptional strength. It has been well received also for railway carriage work. It is sometimes cut up into thin planking and exported to Assam to make tea-boxes.

Notes

Also put in the family Brownlowiaceae.

Names & Synonyms

Kashit, Kathi-ka, Pan-thitya, Saitka, Seesiat plueak, Sisiat, Takothet, Thethet, Thitk, Thitka

References (3)

Burkill, I.H., 1966, A Dictionary of the Economic Products of the Malay Peninsula. Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol 2 (I-Z) p 1717
Jacquat, C., 1990, Plants from the Markets of Thailand. D.K. Book House p 70
J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Pt. 2, Nat. Hist. 40(2):47. 1871