Fabaceae FAMILY Vulnerable

Pterocarpus dalbergioides

Edibility

2/5

Medicinal

2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitSemi-deciduous Tree

Growth—

Pterocarpus dalbergioides is a plant of the wet, lowland tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 100 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 22 - 32°c, but can tolerate 15 - 37°c^[1]. Plants are not tolerant of frost. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 3,000 - 3,500mm, but tolerates 2,500 - 4,000mm^[1]. Grows best in a sunny position, tolerating light shade^[1]. The tree is shade tolerant in youth^[1]. Succeeds in most soils^[1]. The tree is best adapted to damp conditions^[1]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, tolerating 5 - 7.5^[1]. Pterocarpus dalbergioides is long lived and it is estimated that the species takes 10 years for its trunk to reach 30cm in diameter^[2]. The species experiences poor, wild generation from seed. It is thought that it only regenerates in forest gaps and following widespread forest disturbance^[2]. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby^[3].

Propagation

Seed - Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Pterocarpus+dalbergioides>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

[1]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.
[2]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
[3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[4]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.
[5]The Hongmu Challenge; A briefing for the 66th meeting of the CITES Standing Committee, January 2016 — Environmental Investigation Agency; London · 2016 · http://www.eia-global.org ↩︎Lists the 33 species used in making Hungmu furniture and the degree of over-exploitation plus recommendations for protecting them.
[6]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.