Aglaia elaeagnoidea (A. Jussieu) Bentham, Fl. Austral. 1:383 (1826)

Latin for 'similar to the genus Elaeagnus '.

Synonyms
Aglaia abbreviata C.Y. Wu
Aglaia canariifolia Koord.
Aglaia cupreolepidota Merr.
Aglaia elaeagnoidea var. beddomei (Gamble) N.C.Nair
Aglaia elaeagnoidea var. bourdillonii (Gamble) N.C.Nair
Aglaia elaeagnoidea var. courtallensis (Gamble) N.C.Nair
Aglaia elaeagnoidea var formosana Hayata
Aglaia elaeagnoidea var glabrescens Valeton in Hochr.
Aglaia elaeaegnoidea var pallens Merrill
Aglaia formosana (Hayata) Hauata
Aglaia grata Wall. ex Voigt
Aglaia hoanensis Pierre
Aglaia lepidota Miq.
Aglaia lepidota var. paupercula Miq.
Aglaia littoralis Talbot [Illegitimate]
Aglaia midnaporensis Carey ex Voigt
Aglaia odoratissima Benth. [Illegitimate]
Aglaia pallens (Merr.) Merr.
Aglaia parvifolia Merr.
Aglaia poilanei Pellegr.
Aglaia poulocondorensis Pellegr.
Aglaia roxburghiana (Wight & Arnott) Miquel
Aglaia roxburghiana var. beddomei Gamble
Aglaia roxburghiana var. courtallensis Gamble
Aglaia roxburghiana var. paupercula (Miq.) Miq.
Aglaia spanoghei Blume ex Miq.
Aglaia talbotii Sundararagh.
Aglaia wallichii Hiern
Amoora poulocondorensis (Pellegr.) Harms
Milnea roxburghiana Wight & Arnott
Nemedra elaeagnoidea A. Jussieu
Sapindus lepidotus Wall.
Walsura lanceolata Wall.

Description
Small tree or shrub 5-10(-20) m; bole up to 25(-50) cm in diam., sometimes with small buttresses. Outer bark brown, greyish-brown or yellowish-grey, with lenticels and narrow vertical fissures, flaking in thin, irregular, stiff scroll-like scales; inner bark pink or reddish-brown; sapwood yellow; heartwood red. Twigs densely covered with pale brown or pale orange-brown peltate scales which have a short fimbriate margin. Leaves imparipinnate, 6-29 cm long, 7-21 cm wide; petiole 2.5-10.5 cm, petiole, rachis and petiolulcs densely covered with peltate scales like those on the twigs. Leaflets (1-)3-7, 2-13(-16) by 1-5(-6) cm, subcoriaceous, the apex rounded or acuminate, cuneate at the asymmetrical base, upper surface shiny, with scales like those on the twigs, densely covering both surfaces of the leaflets when young, numerous on or densely covering the midrib and sparse to numerous elsewhere when mature, with numerous faint or conspicuous pits on both surfaces, lateral veins 5-10 on each side of the midrib, the reticulation sometimes subprominent on both surfaces; petiolules 5-15(-20) mm on lateral leaflets. Male inflorescence (3-)9-34 cm long and (1-)2.5-25 cm wide; female inflorescence up to 12.5 cm long and 10 cm wide; peduncle up to 6 cm, peduncle, rachis and branches with indumentum like the twigs. Flowers up to 3 mm long and in diam.; pedicel 0.5-1.5 mm, densely covered with scales like those on the twigs. Calyx densely covered with scales like those on the twigs. Petals 5. Staniinal tube nearly as long as the corolla, subglobose, yellow, the aperture 0.3-0.7 mm across with a dentate margin; anthers 5, about half the length of the tube, inserted half way up the tube with their apices usually just protruding through the aperture. Infructescence up to 12 cm long and 10 cm wide; peduncle up to 5 cm, the peduncle, rachis, branches and fruitstalks densely covered with peltate scales like those on the twigs. Fruits 1.1-2 cm long, 1.3-1.5 cm in diam., subglobose, ellipsoid or obovoid, orange, brown or red, indehiscent, densely covered with scales like those on the twigs, sometimes glabrescent; pericaip thin, soft. Locules 2, each with or 1 seed. Seed c. 10 mm long, 6 mm wide and 3 mm thick, usually completely covered with a thin, white, gelatinous, sweet aril. [from Flora Malesiana]

Ecology
Dense and moist forests in valleys and mountainous regions, ravine rain forests, evergreen broad-leaved forests; also in secondary forest, deciduous forest, along beaches, river banks, and in Barringtonia formations on sand, granite, coral and limestone. Found from sea level to 1500 m elevation.

Uses
Aril edible, sweetish, tasty.

Distribution
Very widespread species occurring from India and Sri Lanka to southern China and Southern Taiwan to New Guinea, Australia and the western Pacific.

Local names
Shanluo (China).