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Haldina cordifolia
Rubiaceae FAMILY

Haldina cordifolia

Haldina cordifolia

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

The sawdust sometimes has an irritant effect upon woodworkers[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Tree
Growth—

A plant of the tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 1,000 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 25 - 35°c, but can tolerate 5 - 47°c[2]. It can be killed by temperatures of -1°c or lower[2]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,000 - 2,000mm, but tolerates 800 - 4,500mm[2]. Young trees prefer a position in light to moderate shade, but become more light-demanding as they grow older[2]. Succeeds in most soils, growing best in deep, fairly fertile conditions[2]. Prefers a moist but well-drained soil[3]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, tolerating 5 - 7.5[2]. The tree has a massive root system in proportion to its size, which makes it very resistant to drought[3]. Trees can be coppiced[4]. Trees are not resistant to forest fires[3].

Propagation

Seed - it is very small and so should only just be covered with soil. The seed is best sown in a seed-box that is placed in light shade and protected from heavy rain. Water frequently but carefully with a very fine spray. Germination ordinarily takes place in about 20 - 40 days. As soon as the seedlings are large enough to handle, that is, in about two to three months, they should be pricked out about 5cm apart in boxes ; the more vigorous ones may even be pricked out about 10cm apart in nursery-beds[4]. The seedlings will be ready to plant out in the forest early the following rains. Transplanting is not unattended with risk owing to the liability of the seedlings to die of drought ; care is therefore necessary to keep a ball of earth round the roots. Risk is further avoided by pricking out the plants into baskets or bamboo tubes instead of into boxes or nursery-beds, so that there is no interference with the roots during transplanting[4]. Young seedlings grow very slowly in their first year, reaching a height of only 25 - 150mm. And are very susceptible to being washed away or beaten down with rain at this time[4]. Growth is faster in the second year, with plants reaching heights of 30 - 60cm or more[4]. Plants develop a thin but long tap root in their first year, this thickens and develops considerably in the second year[4]. The seed can be stored for at least 12 months[4]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Haldina+cordifolia>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Tropix 7 — CIRAD · http://tropix.cirad.fr/en ↩︎An on-line guide to the timbers of 245 species of trees.
  2. [2]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  3. [3]Digital Compendium of Forestry Species of Cambodia — www.digitalspecies.blogspot.com; Phnom Penh · 2008 · http://www.digitalspecies.blogspot.com ↩︎A very detailed booklet, produced in PDF format on the internet, giving information on around 100 species of trees.
  4. [4]The Silviculture of Indian Trees — Troup. R.S. · Oxford, at the Clarendon Press · 1921 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎An excellent treatment.
  5. [5]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
  6. [6]Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants — http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 ↩︎Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
  7. [7]Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). — Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. · Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. · 1986 · ISBN - ↩︎Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
  8. [8]A Manual of Indian Timbers. — Gamble. J. S. · Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh · 1972 · ISBN - ↩︎First written in the 19th century, but still a classic, giving a lot of information on the uses and habitats of Indian trees. Not for the casual reader.
  9. [9]Tropical Timbers of the World. Ag. Handbook No. 607. — Chudnoff. Martin. · USDA Forest Service. Wisconsin. · 1984 ↩︎Terse details on the properties of the wood of almost 400 species of trees from the Tropics. , 404. 652