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Celtis timorensis
Also called Stinkwood
Celtis timorensis, commonly known as stinkwood or stinking wood, is a species of flowering plant in the family Cannabaceae that grows in tropical Asia. The specific epithet comes from the name of the island of Timor, the locality of the type collection. The most notable characteristic of the tree is the strong excrement odour that it emits from the bark and sap, which pervades the surrounding forest. This is due to the presence of the malodorous organic compound skatole. In Thailand, it therefore known as kæ̂ng k̄hī̂ phrar̀wng or mị̂ chĕd tūd phrar̀wng (Thai: แก้งขี้พระร่วง, ไม้เช็ดตูดพระร่วง) which means 'wipe the bottom timber'. Thai legend has it that Phra Ruang (the legendary King of the Sukhothai dynasty) wiped his buttocks with it.
The tree is found throughout the tropical regions of Asia, from India and Sri Lanka, through Indo-China, southern China and Malesia to the Philippines. It occurs on Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the northeastern Indian Ocean, where it forms about 1% of the primary rainforest canopy. It grows in drier, seasonal rain forest.
Celtis adolfi-friderici · White stinkwood · Nettle Tree · Celtis balansae · Biond’s Hackberry · Celtis brasiliensis · Bunge's hackberry · Caucasian hackberry · Celtis conferta subsp. amblyphylla · Cottonwood · Spiny hackberry · Celtis glabrata
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Celtis timorensis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
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.
