Puspa (Schima wallichii)

Puspa (Schima wallichii) is a species of plant in Theaceae, a medium sized tree and producer of medium quality carpentry wood, spiral leaves, bell flowers, bulbous flowers, winged seeds, grows at elevations of up to 4000 meters and is widely used to make tools and construction materials.

S. wallichii has a height of up to 47 meters, stems cylindrical, up to 250 cm in diameter, branch-free up to 25 meters, the bark is cracked and forms longitudinal furrows, reddish brown to dark gray, the inside is bright red .

The leaves have a stalk of 3 mm and are spread in a spiral. Leaves oval to broad oblong, 6-13 cm long, 3-5 cm wide, wedge-shaped base, pointed tip, a large central vein and several lateral veins. Old leaves are green and thick, young leaves are reddish.

Flowers grow in the armpits at the tips of twigs and have protective leaves. The long-lived petals become fruit. The crown is white and attached at the base with many stamens in the middle. Fruits are round or square, 2-3 cm in diameter, open with five valves. The seeds are surrounded by wings.

Puspa lives in a variety of soils, climates and habitats. Often found abundantly in lowland primary forests, common in secondary forests and disturbed areas and grasslands up to 4000 meters elevation.

Puspa is appreciated for its good quality wood as an ingredient in house ingredients. This wood is more suitable for use as beams and pillars of houses and bridges than made into boards. Wood tends to bend or warp. Puspa wood is also good for making plywood and fiberboard.

The heartwood is reddish-brown or gray-brown and the sapwood is lighter. Smooth texture and smooth surface with straight grain direction. Specific gravity 0.45-0.92, strong class II, durable class III, termite attack resistance class II, fungus attack resistance class III-IV, radial dry shrinkage 4.7-4.8%, tangential dry shrinkage 8.6 -10.6% and energy 19,980 kJ/kg.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Ericales
Family: Theaceae
Genus: Schima
Species: Schima wallichii
Subspecies: Schima wallichii ssp. liukiuensis, Schima wallichii ssp. noronhae, Schima wallichii var. superba

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