Alstonia macrophylla
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Batino (Alstonia macrophylla) leaves & fruit at Hyderabad, AP W 280.jpg
|image_caption = leaves & fruit in Hyderabad, India.
|status = LR/lc
|status_system = IUCN2.3
|genus = Alstonia
|species = macrophylla
|authority = Wall.
|synonyms = {{Species list|
Alstonia acuminata|Miq.|
Alstonia batino|Blanco.|
Alstonia brassii|Monach.|
Alstonia costata|Wall. ex Miq.|
Alstonia glabriflora|Markgr.|
Alstonia oblongifolia|Merr.|
Alstonia pangkorensis|King & Gamble|
Alstonia paucinervia|Merr.|
Alstonia subsessilis|Miq.
}}
|synonyms_ref = ”Alstonia_macrophylla” at Asianplant.net at http://www.asianplant.net/Apocynaceae/Alstonia_macrophylla.htm
}}
Alstonia macrophylla, the hard alstonia, hard milkwood or big-leaved macrophyllum,Alstonia macrophylla at Globin-Med at http://www.globinmed.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=99642:alstonia-macrophylla-wallich-ex-g-don&catid=8&Itemid=113 and http://eol.org/pages/596590/overview is a species of plant in the family Apocynaceae.
Distribution
It is native to Indonesia (Kalimantan and Sulawesi), Malaysia, the Philippines (Tagalog: batino{{Cite web|url=http://www.stuartxchange.org/Batino.html|title=Batino / Alstonia macrophylla / DEVIL TREE / HARD ALSTONIA: Philippine Medicinal Herbs / Philippine Alternative Medicine|website=www.stuartxchange.org|access-date=2017-03-10}}), Thailand, and Vietnam. It was introduced to Sri Lanka, where it is known as hawari nuga by local Sinhalese people.
Description
Alstonia macrophylla is a tree with a straight trunk and a high, narrow crown. It can grow up to 30 meters tall. The trunk and branches contain a white latex. The bark is smooth and has a light grey color. Leaves are in whorls of three to four, simple, penni-veined, membranous, and glabrous above. Leaf-blades are 10 to 50 centimeters long, 5 to 15 cm wide, widest in or above the middle, and cuneate at the base. Flowers are about 7 mm in diameter, white, with narrow corolla tube, placed terminal on twigs. Fruits are about 30 centimeters long, green and filled with many small hairy seeds that are dispersed far and wide by the wind. The heartwood is yellowish, with a straight and shallowly interlocked grain with a moderately fine to rather coarse texture.”Alstonia macrophylla” in ”Flora of Sri Lanka” at http://www.botanicgardens.gov.lk/herbarium/index.php?option=com_sobi2&catid=1819&Itemid=90 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129014722/http://www.botanicgardens.gov.lk/herbarium/index.php?option=com_sobi2&catid=1819&Itemid=90 |date=2014-11-29 }}. ”Alstonia macrophylla” at Globin-Med at http://www.globinmed.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=99642:alstonia-macrophylla-wallich-ex-g-don&catid=8&Itemid=113 and ”Alstonia_macrophylla” at Asianplant.net at http://www.asianplant.net/Apocynaceae/Alstonia_macrophylla.htm
Natural habitat
Grows in a wide range of habits. Undisturbed and disturbed areas from sea-level up to 2900 meters altitude. Grows near the coast behind mangrove forests and in mixed dipterocarp forests. Usually grows on ridges and hillsides with sandy to clayey soils. It also grows in ultrabasic and limestone soils.
Uses
The timber is of superior quality to that of Alstonia scholaris and less liable to attack by boring insects. It is used for making roof beams, frames, poles and toys. Being a quick growing tree that grows in a wide range of habitats and soils, it has been used for reforestation in Sri Lanka.”Alstonia macrophylla” in ”Flora of Sri Lanka” at http://www.botanicgardens.gov.lk/herbarium/index.php?option=com_sobi2&catid=1819&Itemid=90 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129014722/http://www.botanicgardens.gov.lk/herbarium/index.php?option=com_sobi2&catid=1819&Itemid=90 |date=2014-11-29 }} and M.M.T.N. Gunaratne ”Value Addition to Alstonia Plantations” at http://www.sci.sjp.ac.lk/lms/wordpress/?p=423 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120092054/http://www.sci.sjp.ac.lk/lms/wordpress/?p=423 |date=2013-01-20 }}. Retrieved 20.2.2013.
Invasive species
In Sri Lanka, where it is called "havari nuga", it has been used for reforestation due to its fast growth rate and is now a widely spread invasive species in the wet zone. It mostly grows as a pioneer tree in disturbed forest areas.Lalith Gunasekera, Invasive Plants: A guide to the identification of the most invasive plants of Sri Lanka, Colombo 2009. ”Alstonia macrophylla” in ”Flora of Sri Lanka” at http://www.botanicgardens.gov.lk/herbarium/index.php?option=com_sobi2&catid=1819&Itemid=90 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129014722/http://www.botanicgardens.gov.lk/herbarium/index.php?option=com_sobi2&catid=1819&Itemid=90 |date=2014-11-29 }}
File:Batino (Alstonia macrophylla) trunk at Hyderabad, AP W 279.jpg|Trunk in Hyderabad, India.
File:Batino (Alstonia macrophylla) tree with fruits at Hyderabad, AP W 277.jpg|Tree with fruits in Hyderabad, India.
File:Batino (Alstonia macrophylla) tree at Hyderabad, AP W 278.jpg|Tree in Hyderabad, India.
File:Alstonia macrophylla (Batino) in Hyderabad W IMG 7138.jpg|Leaves in Hyderabad, India.
File:Alstonia macrophylla (Batino) in Hyderabad W IMG 7136.jpg|Fruit in Hyderabad, India.
File:Alstonia macrophylla (Batino) in Hyderabad W IMG 7135.jpg|Trunk in Hyderabad, India.
File:Alstonia macrophylla (Batino) in Hyderabad W IMG 9006.jpg|Flowers in Hyderabad, India.
File:Alstonia macrophylla (Batino) in Hyderabad W IMG 9005.jpg|Flowers in Hyderabad, India.
File:Alstonia macrophylla.jpg|Alstonia macrophylla take over abandoned landscapes like these in Sri Lanka's wet zone - photo from Sinharaja rainforest, Sri Lanka
References
{{Commons category|Alstonia macrophylla}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1944104}}