Thespesia populnea

taxobox
name = Portia tree


regnum = Plantae
unranked_divisio = Angiosperms
unranked_classis = Eudicots
unranked_ordo = Rosids
ordo = Malvales
familia = Malvaceae
genus = "Thespesia"
species = "T. populnea"
binomial = "Thespesia populnea"
binomial_authority = (L.) Sol ex Correa|The portia tree "(Thespesia populnea," Family Malvaceae, pronEng|ˈpɔrʃ(i)ə or IPA|/ˈpɔərʃ(i)ə/) is a small tree or arborescent shrub 5-10 (-20) m high that is pantropical in littoral environments, although probably native only to the Old World. In Hawai‘i and elsewhere in the Pacific it is possibly indigenous, although may have been spread by early Polynesians for its useful wood and fiber.

Common names vary according to the country and include "Indian tulip tree", "Pacific rosewood", "seaside mahoe" (in Florida), "surina" (the "elegant tree"), "suriya" (Sinhala), "bebaru" or "baru baru" (Malay), "milo" or "miro" (in many Polynesian languages), "mako‘i" (Rapanui), "gangaraavi" (Telugu), "poovarasu" (Tamil) and "plaksa" (Sanskrit).

On Pitcairn Island, "miro" (as it is called there) was once common but extensively logged. Throughout the 20th century, Pitcairners have sailed to Henderson Island to obtain "miro" wood. They use the wood to make curios from which they derive much of their income (Binggeli, 1999).

The flower of the portia tree played a part in Sri Lanka's independence struggle, when it was sold by the Suriya-Mal Movement instead of the poppy to aid indigenous ex-servicemen.

Uses

The wood of the portia tree is used to make the "thavil," a Carnatic musical instrument of South India. "Milo" is popular in Hawaii for woodworking (commonly turned into bowls) because of the range of colors expressed (tan, through yellow, to red). Traditionally it was planted in sacred groves and used for religious sculpture throughout eastern Polynesia. It was used for the rongorongo tablets of Easter Island (Orliac 2005).

References

* " [http://www.hibiscus.org/species/tpopulnea.php Thespesia populnea] " at website: Australian native hibiscus and hibiscus-like species.
* Binggeli, Pierre. 1999. " [http://members.lycos.co.uk/WoodyPlantEcology/pitcairn/miro.htm Miro] "
* Orliac, Catherine. 2005. "The Rongorongo Tablets from Easter Island: Botanical Identification and 14C Dating." "Archaeology in Oceania" 40.3.

Gallery

External links

* [http://www.canoeplants.com/milo.html Milo] at Canoe Plants of Ancient Hawaii
* [http://iu.ff.cuni.cz/pandanus/database/details.php?plantno=800056&enc=utf&sort=ka&display=50&reswind=this&lat=&skt=on&pkt=&tam=&start=0 description]