Biancaea sappan

Botanical Description

Biancaea sappan is a prickly, shrubby tree that can grow up to 20 metres tall, but is usually smaller[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. , 307 Title Tropical and Subtropical Trees - A Worldwide Encyclopaedic Guide. Publication Author Barwick. M. Publisher Thames & Hudson, London Year 2004 ISBN 0-500-51181-0 Description A superb book, very concise and well written, giving a wealth of information on 400 or more species including descriptions, habitat, cultivation details and plant uses. A wealth of colour photographs bring each plant vividly to life. ]. The bole can be 20 - 30cm in diameter[ 598 Title Trees of Laos and Vietnam - A Field Guide to 100 species. Publication Author Hoang Van Sam; Khamseng Nanthavong; Kessler P.J.A. Publisher Blumea Year 2004 ISBN Description A detailed guide, with excellent line-drawings, to 100 of the more important trees of Laos and Vietnam. A very good work, giving lots of information about each plant. Originally published in the journal Blumea, it is available as a PDF on the Interne ]. The wood of the tree has been used for many hundreds of years as the source of a red dye and at one time hundreds of tonnes were exported annually to the Islamic and Mediterranean worlds and then to Europe from the Middle Ages onwards[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ]. With the advent of synthetic dyes, it has largely fallen into disuse, though it is still employed for dyeing textiles on a smaller scale by craftsmen and artists[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ]. The wood is also often harvested for its medicinal The plant is often cultivated for its use as a prickly hedge that can exclude grazing animals. Although the tree in general is not considered to be threatened, subpopulations in Viet Nam are restricted and considered to be 'Critically Endangered'. The plant as a whole is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2011)[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ].