Gmelina arborea

Gmelina arborea, (in English beechwood, gmelina, goomar teak, Kashmir tree, Malay beechwood, white teak, yamane^[3] ), locally known as gamhar, is a fast-growing deciduous tree in the family Lamiaceae.^[4]

Gmelina arborea
Gmelina arborea tree plantation
Gmelina arborea sapling from Mindanao, Philippines
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Lamiaceae
Genus:	Gmelina
Species:	G. arborea
Binomial name
Gmelina arborea Roxb.
Synonyms
Gmelina arborea var. canescens Haines Gmelina arborea var. glaucescens C.B.Clarke Gmelina rheedei Hook. [Illegitimate] Gmelina sinuata Link [2]

Distribution and habitat

Fruits

Gmelina arborea grows naturally throughout India, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and in southern provinces of China. It is found at altitudes from sea level to 1,500 metres (5,000 ft).^[1] Since the 1960s, it has been introduced extensively as fast-growing timber trees in Brazil, Gambia, Honduras, Ivory Coast, Malaysia, Malawi, Nigeria, the Philippines, and Sierra Leone. It is also planted in gardens and avenues.^[5][6]

Utilization

Bark

Flower

The species is fast-growing and thus raised in large-scale plantations to produce wood for construction, crafts, paper pulp, fuel, and charcoal. It produces high-quality wood used in the manufacture of furniture and to make plywood, matches and agricultural implements. The nectar of the flowers yields high-quality honey.^[7]

The Lion Throne, the most important, and last surviving, of the eight royal thrones of Myanmar, now in the National Museum in Yangon, is carved from Gmelina arborea wood.^[8][9]

Chemistry

Lignans, such as 6" - bromo - isoarboreol, 4-hydroxysesamin, 4,8-dihydroxysesamin, 1,4-dihydroxysesamin (gummadiol), 2-piperonyl-3-hydroxymethyl-4-(α-hydroxy-3,4-methylenedioxybenzyl)-4-hydroxytetrahydrofuran and the 4-O-glucoside of 4-epigummadiol, can be isolated from the heartwood of Gmelina arborea.^[10] The parent compounds are arboreol or gmelanone.^[11]

Umbelliferone 7-apiosylglucoside can be isolated from the root.^[12]

Five constituents, isolated from the heartwood of G. arborea, (+)-7′-O-ethyl arboreol, (+)-paulownin, (+)-gmelinol, (+)-epieudesmin and (−)-β-sitosterol, show antifungal activity against Trametes versicolor.^[13]