Albizia lebbeck

Albizia lebbeck is a species of Albizia, native to tropical southern Asia, and widely cultivated and naturalised in other tropical and subtropical regions. English names for it include Lebbeck, Lebbek Tree, Frywood, Siris, Koko, and Woman's-tongue-tree.^[2]

It is a tree growing to a height of 18-30 m tall with a trunk 50 cm to 1 m in diameter. The leaves are bipinnate, 7.5–15 cm long, with one to four pairs of pinnae, each pinna with 6–18 leaflets. The flowers are white, with numerous 2.5–3.8 cm long stamens, and very fragrant. The fruit is a pod 15-30 cm long and 2.5-5.0 cm broad, containing six to twelve seeds.^[3]

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Uses

Its uses include environmental management, forage, medicine and wood. It is cultivated as a shade tree in North and South America.^[4] In India, the tree is used to produce timber. The bark is used medicinally to treat inflammation.^[5]

Traditional medicine

The tree is used as an astringent, to treat boils, cough, to treat the eye, flu, gingivitis, lung problems, pectoral problems, is used as a tonic, and is used to treat abdominal tumors.^[6] Albizia lebbeck is also psychoactive.^[7]

Wood

Wood from Albizia lebbeck has a density of 0.55-0.66 g/cm³ or higher.^[8]

References

1. ^ ILDIS LegumeWeb
2. ^ Germplasm Resources Information Network: Albizia lebbeck
3. ^ Flora of Pakistan: Albizia lebbeck
4. ^ ILDIS LegumeWeb
5. ^ FAO
6. ^ Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases
7. ^ Index of Rätsch, Christian. Enzyklopädie der psychoaktiven Pflanzen, Botanik, Ethnopharmakologie und Anwendungen, 7. Auflage. AT Verlag, 2004, 941 Seiten. ISBN 3855025703 at [1]
8. ^ FAO