FACT Sheet

FACT 99-05
A quick guide to multipurpose trees from around the world September 1999

Gmelina arborea : A popular plantation species in the tropics

Gmelina arborea Roxb. (family Verbenaceae) is a fast including Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, southern China,
growing tree frequently planted in plantations to produce Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines (Jensen 1995). It has
wood for light construction, crafts, decorative veneers, pulp,
fuel, and charcoal. The species is also planted in taungya

Source: F/FRED 1994

systems with short-rotation crops and as a shade tree for
coffee and cacao. It is commonly called gmelina and white
beech (English), melina (Spanish), gamar in Bangladesh,
melina/gambar in India, gemelina in Indonesia, yemane in
Philippines and soh in Thailand, and it has many regional
names (Brandis 1906, F/FRED 1994).

Botany
Gmelina arborea is a medium-sized deciduous tree up to 40
m tall and 140 cm in diameter, but usually smaller than this
(Jensen 1995). The tree form is fair to good, with 6–9 m of
branchless, often crooked trunk and a large, low-branched
crown. The bark is thin and gray. Leaves are simple,
opposite, more or less heart-shaped, 10–25 cm long, and 5–
18 cm wide. The yellow or brown flowers are arranged in
panicled cymes 15–30 cm long, which appear after leaf-fall.
The trumpet-shaped flowers are 4 cm long and are hairy and
short-stalked. The fruit is a drupe 2–2.5 cm long and
contains 1–4 seeds (Khan and Alam 1996). The number of
seeds per kilogram varies from 700–1400 (Evans 1982) to
2500 (Katoch 1992).
been planted less widely in tropical African and Latin
American countries (Evans 1982).
Ecology
Gmelina arborea is found in rainforest as well as dry
Uses
deciduous forest and tolerates a wide range of conditions
Wood. The wood is yellowish or grayish-white, even-
from sea level to 1200 m elevation and annual rainfall from
grained, and very useful for planking, paneling, carriages,
750 to 5000 mm. It grows best in climates with mean annual
furniture, and carpentry of all kinds (Khan and Alam 1996).
temperature of 21–28°C (Jensen 1995). Gmelina grows best
The wood specific gravity is 0.42–0.64 (Davidson 1985). It
on deep, well drained, base-rich soils with pH between 5.0
is easily worked, readily takes paint or varnish, and is very
and 8.0. Growth is poor on thin, highly leached acid soils
durable under water (Gamble 1922). The wood is used for
(F/FRED 1994).
light construction and pulp as well as for fuelwood and
charcoal. Fuelwood provides 4400–4800 Kcal/kg (Davidson
Distribution
1985). The wood is used in Myanmar for carving images
Gmelina arborea originated in an area of South and
and canoes (Gamble 1922), and is excellent material for
Southeast Asia from Pakistan and Sri Lanka to Myanmar. It
match manufacture, packing cases, and all ornamental work.
has been widely planted in Southeast Asian countries
It is also used for making quality toys and picture frames.

Prepared by Dr. Mohammed Kamal Hossain, Associate Professor,

Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, Chittagong University, Chittagong, Bangladesh.
A publication of the Forest, Farm, an d Community Tree Network (formerly the Nitrogen Fixing Tree Association)
Winrock International, 38 Winrock Drive, Morrilton, Arkansas 72110 -9370, USA
Phone: 501-727-5435; Fax: 501-727-5417; E-mail: forestry@winrock.org; www.winrock.org/forestry/factnet.htm
Other Uses. The leaves and fruits of gmelina are used as al. 1988). In Sabah, Indonesia, gmelina produces an average
fodder in many parts of India (Mukherjee 1884, Benthal volume of about 25 m3 /ha/year on clayey loam soils with
1933, Laurie 1945). A number of the plant’s parts have adequate moisture (Wong and Jones 1986).
medicinal value. It also produces good quality honey.
Silviculture Tree Improvement
Propagation. The species can be propagated by seeds, In an evaluation of international trials containing 39
cuttings, and stumps (Alam et al. 1985). Under natural provenances of Gmelina arborea averaging 13 years of age,
conditions germination takes place in the rainy season soon Lauridsen et al. (1995) concluded that in most regions the
after fruits fall from the tree. The germination rate for fresh best results in terms of survival, health, and production can
seed is 65–80%. Fresh seed can be stored at room be achieved through selection from local landraces. An
temperature for about 6 months. Seed stored at 4°C will exception is Latin American landraces, which generally
remain viable for about three years. The seed should be performed below average. The authors further recommend
soaked in cold water for 24 hours before planting. Seeds the inclusion of specific natural provenances from northern
should be planted in germination beds with a mixture of sand and northeast India. Some good provenances were identified
and loam and covered with a thin layer of sand or compost. in north, central-eastern, and southwest India, and Thailand-
Seeds germinate in 2–3 weeks and are ready for Malaysia. Provenances from central-north and central-west
transplanting to poybags when the first pair of leaves India are inferior.
appears. A 10 x 15 cm polybag is widely used in Bangladesh. Faster growing provenances have 2–3% lower wood
Root pruning and hardening off of the seedlings are density than average, corresponding to a weight decrease of
beneficial for maximum field survival. The bare-root approximately 12 kg/m3 (Lauridsen et al. 1995).
seedlings should have a minimum base diameter of 1 cm
with a well balanced shoot-root ratio. Seedlings are ready for Limitations
planting in the field when they reach a height of 30–45 cm, Armillaria mellea, Ceratocystis fimbriata, Ganoderma
usually in 6 months. colosum, Gnomonia spp., and Poria rhizomorpha are some
For stump planting, seeds should be sown at the rate of of the fungi that cause serious damage to gmelina. The
90 seeds per square meter. Seedlings are usually ready for species is heavily infested by mistletoe, Scurrula gracilifolia.
stump preparation in 7–8 months and should have a root- The insect Craspedonta leayana causes serious defoliation in
collar diameter of at least 2.5 cm. The stem and roots of Bangladesh (Khan and Alam 1996).
seedlings should be pruned back to 5 cm and 20 cm,
respectively. Stump planting is not widely practiced due to Selected References
high mortality (50% mortality is common). Adegbehin, J.O., J.O. Abayomi, and L. B. Nwaigbo. 1988.
Gmelina arborea in Nigeria. Commonwealth Forestry Review,
Management. Outplanting starts at the onset of the rainy 67(2):159–166.
season and the spacing of the plantations depends on the Alam, M.K., N.A. Siddiqi, and S. Das. 1985. Fodder trees of
objectives of the plantation and the end-uses. A spacing of 2 Bangladesh. Bangladesh Forest Research Institute,
x 2 m is commonly used for plantation programs, and a Chittagong, Bangladesh. 167 p.
Davidson, J. 1985. Assistance to the forestry sector of
spacing of 4.5 x 4.5 m is used for agroforestry. Under
Bangladesh. Species and sites—What to plant and where to
favorable conditions the growth of the seedlings is rapid,
plant. Field Doc. No. 5, UNDP/FAO/BGD/79/017. 50 p.
particularly from the second year onward. Because gmelina Evans, J. 1982. Plantation forestry in the tropics. Clarendon
is shade-intolerant and sensitive to competition, 3–4 press, Oxford, UK. 472 p.
weedings are required during the first two years of growth. Forestry/Fuelwood Research and Development Project
Rotations for pulpwood and sawnwood are usually 6 and 10 (F/FRED). 1994. Growing multipurpose trees on small farms,
years, respectively. Rotations of 5–10 years are common for module 9: Species fact sheets (2nd ed.). Bangkok, Thailand:
fuelwood. Stands on 10-year rotations are thinned to 50% at Winrock International. 127 p.
five years and another 50% at seven years. The second Jensen, M. 1995. Trees commonly cultivated in Southeast Asia;
rotation is usually produced by coppicing. Seedlings and Illustrated field guide. RAP Publication: 1995/38, FAO,
stumps are planted for a third rotation. Bangkok, Thailand. p. 93.
The growth of the species is remarkably fast and on Lauridsen, E.B., E.D. Kjaer, and M. Nissen. 1995. Second
good sites can reach 20 m height in 5 years. The tree attains evaluation of an international series of Gmelina provenance
more than 30 m in height with about 60 cm dbh at maturity. trials. DANIDA Forest Seed Centre. Humlebaek, Denmark. 120
Form of the tree is fair to good, with 6–9 m of clear bole. p.
Some trees can reach 3 m after a year from planting and 20 Troup, R.S. 1921. The silviculture of Indian trees. Clarendon
Press, Oxford, UK. Vol. 2, p. 769–776.
m after 4.5 years.
Wong, C.Y., and N. Jones. 1986. Improving tree form through
In Nigeria, the yield of gmelina is 84 m3 /ha at age 12 in
vegetative propagation of Gmelina arborea. Commonwealth
poor sandy soils, 210 m3 /ha at age 12 in clay or lateritic Forestry Review, 65(4):321–324.
soils, and 252 m3 /ha at age 10 in favorable alluvial soils—all
volumes are underbark to 7.5 cm top diameter (Adegbehin et
 FACT Sheet
FACT 99-05
A quick guide to multipurpose trees from around the world September 1999

Gmelina arborea : A popular plantation species in the tropics

Full set of references is available from FACT Net

Prepared by Dr. Mohammed Kamal Hossain, Associate Professor,

Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, Chittagong University, Chittagong, Bangladesh.
A publication of the Forest, Farm, an d Community Tree Network (formerly the Nitrogen Fixing Tree Association)
Winrock International, 38 Winrock Drive, Morrilton, Arkansas 72110 -9370, USA
Phone: 501-727-5435; Fax: 501-727-5417; E-mail: forestry@winrock.org; www.winrock.org/forestry/factnet.htm