Scientific Name : Terminalia arjuna Wight & Arn.
Common Name : Arjune Terminalia, Arjuna, White Marudah, Tropical Almond, Arjun, Malabar Almond
Chinese Name : 阿江欖仁
Family : COMBRETACEAE
Local distribution status : Exotic species
| Origin | Native to India, Sri Lanka and other Southeast Asia countries, also broadly cultivated in some provinces of China, including Fujian, Guangdong, and Guangxi. |
|---|---|
| Meanings of Name | The generic name Terminalia is the Latin word that refers to terminus, alluding to its leaves at the end of the shoots. |
| Vitality | Arjune Terminalia prefers fertile neutral soils (pH 6.5 - 7.0), with good water supply and drainage loose and moist alluvial loam. |
| Ecology | Usually grows along banks of low-altitude streams, rivers and seasonally dry water courses. |
| Application | Terminalia arjuna has a tall and elegant tree form with mottled barks. During the blossom season, yellowish-white flowers are fully hung from trees. Small but dense flowers have a great ornamental value and thus are suitable to be planted as roadside trees. It also contains medicinal values. Bark of Terminalia arjuna is widely used in the Indian subcontinent to treat cardiovascular disorders. A wide range of diseases, including heart disease, chest pain, high cholesterol, anginal pain, hypertension, congestive heart failure, dyslipidemia, earaches and urinary tract infections can be treated by Terminalia arjuna effectively. |
| Growing Habit | Large deciduous tree. |
|---|---|
| Height | To 15-20 m tall. |
| Stem | Bark greyish white, exfoliating in flakes, with buttress roots. Branch alternate, spreading. |
| Leaves | Leaves subopposite, alternate, with 1 pair of glands near apex; leaf blade thickly papery, oblong or elliptic, base cordate, asymmetrical, apex obtuse or very shortly acute, margin slightly undulate to subentire, densely papillate adaxially, subglabrous abaxially, lateral vein conspicuous on both surfaces. |
| Flower | Flowers yellowish white, sessile. Calyx-teeth nearly glabrous on both surfaces. Bracteoles very small. |
| Fruit | Drupe obovoid, ridged, wings usually truncate or suddenly narrow at top, brown with 5 wings. |
| Flowering Period | March to May in Hong Kong. |
| Fruiting Period | July to September in Hong Kong. |
Scientific name above is based on Hong Kong Herbarium website:
https://www.herbarium.gov.hk/en/hk-plant-database/plant-detail/index.html?pType=species&oID=8456
Scientific Names from Other Databases
―Flora of China: Terminalia arjuna (Roxb. ex DC.) Wight & Arn.
―GBIF: Terminalia arjuna (Roxb.) Wight & Arn.