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Bischofia javanica
Also called Bishopwood, Java Cedar, Needlebark, Javanese Bishopweed, Kainfal
Bischofia javanica is a large, fast-growing evergreen tree from tropical Asia and the Pacific, grown mainly for timber and shade. It needs a warm, humid, frost-free climate and is not a common houseplant.
Bischofia javanica, or bishop wood, is a plant species of the family Phyllanthaceae. It and the related Bischofia polycarpa are the only two members of genus Bischofia and tribe Bischofieae. These species are distributed throughout southern and southeast Asia to Australia and Polynesia also in North America (brought to North America as a decorative plant but now considered to be an invasive species). The tree is commonly used by tigers to scratch-mark territory in the jungles of Assam where it is locally called uriam. They also occur in southwestern, central, eastern, and southern China, and also Taiwan, where the indigenous people consider it a sacred tree.
The dark red, dense wood is used as a building material for items ranging from furniture to bridges; it is durable but is difficult to air-dry. It is also ideal as firewood.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Bischofia javanica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
