Pterocarpus is a pantropical genus of trees in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae, and was recently assigned to the informal monophyletic Pterocarpus clade within the Dalbergieae. Most species of Pterocarpus yield valuable timber traded as padauk (or padouk), usually pronounced or ; other common names are mukwa or narra. The west African species may be traded as African rosewood. P. santalinus also yields the most precious red sandalwood in China known as Zitan. The wood from the narra tree (P. indicus) and the Burmese padauk tree (P. macrocarpus) is marketed as amboyna when it has grown in the burl form. The scientific name is Latinized Ancient Greek and means "wing fruit", referring to the unusual shape of the seed pods in this genus.
Uses
Padauk wood is obtained from several species of Pterocarpus. All padauks are of African or Asian origin. Padauks are valued for their toughness, stability in use, and decorativeness, most having a reddish wood. Most Pterocarpus woods contain either water- or alcohol-soluble substances and can be used as dyes.
The padauk found most often is African padauk from P. soyauxii which, when freshly cut, is a very bright red/orange but when exposed to sunlight fades over time to a warm brown. Its colour makes it a favourite among woodworkers. Burmese padauk (ပိတောက်) is P. macrocarpus while Andaman padauk is P. dalbergioides. Padauks can be confused with true rosewoods to which they are somewhat related, but as a general rule padauks are coarser and less decorative in figure. Like rosewood, padauk is sometimes used to make xylophone, organ and marimba keys, and guitars. It is an important material in traditional Chinese furniture.
Some padauks, e.g. P. soyauxii, are used as herbal medicines, for example to treat skin parasites and fungal infections.
Chemistry
Pterocarpin is a pterocarpan found in Pterocarpus spp.
Species
A total of 35 species is currently accepted:
Pterocarpus acapulcensis Rose
Pterocarpus albopubescens Hauman
Pterocarpus amazonum (Benth.) Amshoff
Pterocarpus angolensis DC.—kiaat
Pterocarpus antunesii (Taub.) Harms
Pterocarpus brenanii Barbosa & Torre
Pterocarpus claessensii De Wild.
Pterocarpus dalbergioides DC.—Andaman padauk, Andaman redwood, East Indian mahogany
Pterocarpus dubius – Venezuela, Guyana, and northern Brazil
Pterocarpus echinatus Pers. Pterocarpus erinaceus Poir.—muninga, barwood, vène
Pterocarpus gilletii De Wild.
Pterocarpus hockii De Wild.
Pterocarpus homblei De Wild.
Pterocarpus indicus Willd.—Pashu padauk, Malay padauk, New Guinea rosewood
Pterocarpus lucens Guill. & Perr.
Pterocarpus macrocarpus Kurz—Burmese padauk
Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb.—Indian kino, Malabar kino, benga, bijiayasal (w Nepal), venkai
Pterocarpus mildbraedii Harms
Pterocarpus mutondo De Wild.
Pterocarpus officinalis Jacq. Pterocarpus orbiculatus DC.
Pterocarpus osun Craib
Pterocarpus rohrii Vahl
Pterocarpus rotundifolius (Sond.) Druce
subsp. polyanthus (Harms) Mendonça & E. P. Sousa
var. martinii (Dunkley) Mendonça & E. P. Sousa
var. polyanthus (Harms) Mendonça & E. P. Sousa
subsp. rotundifolius (Sond.) Druce
Pterocarpus santalinoides DC.—mututi
Pterocarpus santalinus L. f.—red sandalwood, red sanders
Pterocarpus soyauxii Taub.—African padauk, African coralwood
Pterocarpus ternatus Rizzini
Pterocarpus tessmannii Harms
Pterocarpus tinctorius Welw.
Pterocarpus velutinus De Wild.
Pterocarpus villosus (Benth.) Benth. Pterocarpus violaceus Vogel
Pterocarpus zehntneri Harms
Pterocarpus zenkeri Harms
Notes
Some sources treat P. echinatus as a synonym of P. indicus.