Silver Boodyara also known as koping-koping (Aglaia argentea) is an evergreen tree from the family Meliaceae. It is found in the Asia Pacific region, including Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, and Thailand.
It is also known as iloilo in the Philippines. The city of Iloilo is named after the tree.
🎄The tree grows up to 30m tall and mature trees may have buttresses.The bark is brown – grey and produces white latex when injured.
🌿The leaves are pinnately compound with sub-opposite, oblong elliptic leaflets that are shiny green above and covered with whitish brown peltate scales below giving the underside of leaflets a silvery appearance.
🌷It is a dioecious species so there are separate male and female plants. The flowers are tiny and produced in panicles. The flowering stalks are covered in brown peltate scales. The flowers on both are similar, having 5 petals and 5 sepals. Male flowers have 5 stamens and female flowers have a superior ovary.
🍈The fruit is ovoid maturing to yellowish brown. Each has 3 locules with one seed each surrounded by an edible sweet-sour, whitish aril. The fruit does not split open on maturity.Aril of the seed is edible and also eaten by monkeys and hornbills.
🎄The tree is valued for its timber that is used in construction.
🧿 ETYMOLOGY
Genus Aglaia is derived from the Greek word Αγλαιη which means splendour or beauty and also refers to one of the three Graces in Greek mythology. Specific epithet argentea is Argente in latin, which means silvery, referring to the silvery underside of the leaflets.
Scientific name: Aglaia argentea
Common name: Silver Boodyara
Family: Meliaceae
SOURCE
PICTURE CREDITS
Wee Foong Ang
Reference
Plants of Singapore
