Description
Red sandalwood (Latin scientific name: Pterocarpus indicus Willd.), arbor, 15-25 meters high, gray bark, smooth. The pinnate compound leaves are 15-30 cm long; the stipules fall prematurely; the lobules are 3-5 pairs, ovate, acuminate at the apex, round base, glabrous on both sides, and slender veins. Panicles terminal or axillary, many flowers, brown pubescent; pedicel is 7-10 mm long, with 2 linear, easily shed bracteoles at the top; calyx is campanulate, slightly curved, about 5 mm long, calyx teeth Broad triangle, rounded apex, brown silky hairy; corolla yellow, petals with long stalks, rugged edges, flag petals 10-13 mm wide; ovary with short stalks, densely pilose. The pod is round, flat, oblique, about 5 cm wide, slightly hairy and reticulated to the seed part, with 2 cm wide wings around it, with 1-2 seeds. Flowering in spring.
Produced in Taiwan, Guangdong and Yunnan (southern) of China. Born in sloping sparse forests or cultivated in gardens. India, the Philippines, Indonesia and Myanmar are also distributed. The wood is hard and dense, with a red heartwood. It is an excellent material for construction, musical instruments and furniture; resin and wood are used for medicine.
