Description

Pajanelia is an evergreen, or briefly deciduous, small to medium-sized, sparingly branched tree with large, ornamental flowers up to 30 m tall. Bark is scaly, linearly warty, with whitish brown blaze. Branchlets are round, hairless, corky, warty. Leaves are compound, imparipinnate, up to 120 cm long. Rachis is triangular, hairless, leaflets opposite 9-14 pairs with terminal odd one. Leaflet-stalks are 0.6 cm long. Leaves are 8-24 x 3-10 cm, ovate, tip long-pointed, base asymmetric, margin entire, papery, shining above, hairless. Midrib is flat or slightly canaliculate above. Secondary nerves of one side of leaves is more acute then other. Flowers are borne in panicles. They are purple outside and yellow within, petals wooly along margin. Capsule is 30-50 x 6-8 cm, brown, 2 winged; seeds many, flat, with membranous wing. Pajanelia is found in the open wet evergreen forests of Western Ghats, up to 1000 m.

Characteristics:

Deciduous trees, to 22 m high, bole unbranched to a considerable height; bark 2-3 cm thick, pale grey, shining, pustular lenticels in vertical rows; blaze dull yellow with darker streaks. Leaves compound, imparipinnate, estipulate; rachis to 100 cm, glabrous, stout; leaflets 7-17, opposite; petiolule 3-7 mm, channelled above, glabrous; lamina 17-25 x 7-12 cm, ovate; base oblique; apex acuminate; margin entire, glabrous, chartaceous; lateral nerves 6-10 pairs, pinnate, prominent; intercostae reticulate. Flowers bisexual, crimson-purple, white within, in large terminal recemose panicles; calyx 4.5 cm long, campanulate, lobes 5, rusty tomentose; corolla 9 cm long and 8 cm broad, tube 6-8 cm long, base narrow, broadly ventricose, lobes 5, subequal, crisped; stamens 4, free, didydynamous with a rudimentary fifth, filaments arching, slender; anthers equal, oblong; ovary 0.5-1 cm long, 2-celled, oblong; ovules many; placenta thin at centre; style 6 cm long; stigma 2 lobed. Fruit a capsule, 2 valved, 30-45 x 5-7.5 cm, brown, winged on both margins, compressed, smooth; seeds 2.5 x 1.5 cm, flat, papery, winged on both sides.

Medicinal Uses:

Pajanelia is used in parts of Malaysia, where it is commonly planted as stakes for hedges along rice fields, and is also planted as support tree in pepper plantations. The timber is suitable for woodworking purposes, such as building doors, wall panelling, domestic flooring, veneer and plywood, due to it being very hard and close grained. In conjunction with this, the wood has been used by the native Andamanese, who use the wood for house building, planking and canoe building. Pajanelia also has uses within traditional South Asian medicine. It may be resistant to White ant attacks, and is pollinated by various species of bats.