Dipterocarpus turbinatus
Gaertn. f., Suppl. Carp. 3: 51, t. 188, f. 1. 1805; Dyer
in Fl. Brit. India 1: 295. 1874, p.p.
Asm.: Kherjong, Kural Sal, Kuroil Sal, Tellya garjan, Tilia garjan; Beng.: Teli garjan,
Kali garjan, Shweta gurjan; Eng.: Gurjan, The Gurjan oil tree.
Trees, ca 45 m tall; bole clean, cylindrical, 2 - 5 m in girth; bark ca 3.8 cm thick, hard, rough and fibrous; branchlets terete or occassionally flattened with marked lenticels, whitish and glabrous or sometimes covered with minute, stellate hairs, often pubescent just below the scars of stipules. Leaves 12 - 36 x 5.5 - 15 cm, ovate or ovate-lanceolate to elliptic or elliptic-oblong, rounded or slightly cordate to rarely cuneate at base, acute or acuminate at apex, sinuate-crenate or entire, glabrous on both surfaces, glossy above, on drying slate brown; lateral nerves 10 - 20 pairs, straight; petioles 2.5 - 5 cm long, canescent to glabrous; stipules ca 5 cm long, buff tomentose. Flowers white or yellow with pink tinge, 3 - 3.5 cm long, 3 - 7 in spikes arising rom the axils of fallen leaves. Calyx tube 1 - 1.3 cm long, campanulate or obconic, glabrous or pruinose; three shorter lobes ca 2 mm long, ovate to rounded, two longer lobes ca 1 cm long, linear-oblong, glabrous. Petals 2.5 - 3 cm long, linear, softly pubescent outside. Stamens ca 30; filaments ca 4 mm long, flattened; anthers ca 5 mm long; connective produced into a 4 mm long bristle. Ovary tapering towards apex, densely pilose. Fruits 3 - 3.8 cm long and 2 - 3 cm in diam. at belly, produced into a short stalk at base; wings 11 - 17.5 x 2.5 - 3.5 cm, linear-oblong to oblanceolate oblong, obtuse, pink, glabrous, more or less glaucous, strongly reticulate with 3 main nerves.
Fl. Jan. - March; Fr. May - June.
Distrib. India: In moist tropical evergreen forests on slopes and ridges of the hills at ca of 300 m. Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura and Mizoram.
Bangladesh, Myanmar, Indo-China and Malesia.
Notes. It grows gregariously on the lower. hills in Cachar, Khasi and Lushai in North-eastern India. The tree is leafless for a short period in December and new flushes appear along with flowers during January-March. Though reported by some botanists, its occurence in the Andaman Islands is rather doubtful as many of the specimens from the Andaman Islands in the herbaria identified as this species are found to be D. gracilis Blume.
It closely resembles D. retusus Blume, but the glossy upper surface of its leaves even in dry state clearly distinguishes it from the latter species.
Wood used for temporary construction work, interior decoration, for making packing cases, dug-outs and railway sleepers after treatment. The wood oil is used for burning torches and for smearing on boats to prevent damage by molluscs. The tree is the main source of 'Gurjan oil' of Bengal. The oleo-resin is used as an external application for ulcers, ringworm and other cutaneous affections and also in the treatment of Leucorrhea, Gonorrhoea and Gleet.
Trees, ca 45 m tall; bole clean, cylindrical, 2 - 5 m in girth; bark ca 3.8 cm thick, hard, rough and fibrous; branchlets terete or occassionally flattened with marked lenticels, whitish and glabrous or sometimes covered with minute, stellate hairs, often pubescent just below the scars of stipules. Leaves 12 - 36 x 5.5 - 15 cm, ovate or ovate-lanceolate to elliptic or elliptic-oblong, rounded or slightly cordate to rarely cuneate at base, acute or acuminate at apex, sinuate-crenate or entire, glabrous on both surfaces, glossy above, on drying slate brown; lateral nerves 10 - 20 pairs, straight; petioles 2.5 - 5 cm long, canescent to glabrous; stipules ca 5 cm long, buff tomentose. Flowers white or yellow with pink tinge, 3 - 3.5 cm long, 3 - 7 in spikes arising rom the axils of fallen leaves. Calyx tube 1 - 1.3 cm long, campanulate or obconic, glabrous or pruinose; three shorter lobes ca 2 mm long, ovate to rounded, two longer lobes ca 1 cm long, linear-oblong, glabrous. Petals 2.5 - 3 cm long, linear, softly pubescent outside. Stamens ca 30; filaments ca 4 mm long, flattened; anthers ca 5 mm long; connective produced into a 4 mm long bristle. Ovary tapering towards apex, densely pilose. Fruits 3 - 3.8 cm long and 2 - 3 cm in diam. at belly, produced into a short stalk at base; wings 11 - 17.5 x 2.5 - 3.5 cm, linear-oblong to oblanceolate oblong, obtuse, pink, glabrous, more or less glaucous, strongly reticulate with 3 main nerves.
Fl. Jan. - March; Fr. May - June.
Distrib. India: In moist tropical evergreen forests on slopes and ridges of the hills at ca of 300 m. Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura and Mizoram.
Bangladesh, Myanmar, Indo-China and Malesia.
Notes. It grows gregariously on the lower. hills in Cachar, Khasi and Lushai in North-eastern India. The tree is leafless for a short period in December and new flushes appear along with flowers during January-March. Though reported by some botanists, its occurence in the Andaman Islands is rather doubtful as many of the specimens from the Andaman Islands in the herbaria identified as this species are found to be D. gracilis Blume.
It closely resembles D. retusus Blume, but the glossy upper surface of its leaves even in dry state clearly distinguishes it from the latter species.
Wood used for temporary construction work, interior decoration, for making packing cases, dug-outs and railway sleepers after treatment. The wood oil is used for burning torches and for smearing on boats to prevent damage by molluscs. The tree is the main source of 'Gurjan oil' of Bengal. The oleo-resin is used as an external application for ulcers, ringworm and other cutaneous affections and also in the treatment of Leucorrhea, Gonorrhoea and Gleet.
