PINNAY OE DOMBA OIL 



CALOPHYLLUM 



INOPHYLLUM 



Mast-wood 



[Cf. Paulus dSgineta (Adams, transl.), iii., 171 ; Linschoten, Voy. E. Ind. (ed. 

 Hakl. Soc.), i., 96-7 ; Birdwood and Foster, E.I.C. First Letter Book, 201, 480 ; 

 Milburn, Or. Comm., 1813, ii., 133, 506 ; Robinson, Desc. Ace. Assam, 1841, 

 53-4, 360, 368-9 ; Lewin, Hill-tracts of Chittagong, 1869, 131-2 ; Jackson, 

 Comm. Bot., etc., 1890, 158; also in Journ. Soc. Arts, xxxvi., 1109, 1122; Agri. 

 Bull. Straits and Fed. Malay States, April 1903, 129-36, 157-60 ; Butt. Imp. 

 Inst. Board Trade Journ., suppl., Dec. 31, 1903 ; Wiesner, Die Bohst. des 

 Pflanzenr., i., 172, 339 ; ii., 59, 185, etc.] 



D.E.P., 

 ii., 29-33. 

 Mast-wood. 



Poon Spar. 



Gum 

 Tacamahaca. 



Besin. 



Oil: 



Pinnay or 

 Domba. 



Medicine. 



Extract. 



Timber. 



Masts, 

 Spars, etc. 



CALOPHYLLUM INOPHYLLUM, Linn. ; Fl. Br. Ind., i., 

 273 ; Gamble, Man. Ind. Timbs., 57 ; Cooke, Fl. Pres. Bomb., i., 80 ; 

 Pharmacog. Ind., i., 173 ; Brandis, Ind. Trees, 1906, 54 ; GUTTIFER^E. 

 Mast-wood, the sultana-champa, surpan, surangi, pinnay, punang, puna, 

 undi, ponnyet, etc. punngaa (Sansk). An evergreen tree, which in some 

 localities, especially when near the sea, attains a considerable size. It 

 is indigenous throughout the Western Peninsula, Orissa, Ceylon, Burma 

 and the Andaman Islands, and is distributed to the Malay, Polynesia, 

 Australia and the islands of Eastern Africa. 



Species and Varieties. Besides the above there are four other species of 

 CaiophylitiiH worthy of special mention in this place. These are : (1) c. 

 IK>II/<I iitiitoii. Wall., the kandeb, kironli, kraidone ; an evergreen tree of Northern 

 and Eastern Bengal, the Khasia hills, Chittagong and Martaban. (2) f. mtrcta- 

 biie, Willd., the pantaga, lalchumi, dakar-tdlddd ; a tall evergreen tree of 

 Tenasserim, the Andaman Islands and Ceylon. (3) c. tonientosum, Wight, 

 the Poon Spar, nagari, surhoni, etc. ; a large evergreen tree often 150 feet in 

 height, self-propagated in the western coast forests from N. Kanara to 

 Travancore. (4) c. wiyitttatntm. Wall. ; the bobbi, irai, cheru pinnay, an ever- 

 green tree found along the Western Ghats from the Konkan to Travancore. 



Properties. There appears to be little doubt that the true Gum Tacamahaca, 

 formerly attributed by some writers to c. imtitiii/iiimi. is neither obtained from 

 that nor from any other Indian tree. But when wounded the stems and also the 

 fruits of the mast- wood exude a small quantity of bright-green pleasantly scented 

 RESIN (soluble in alcohol) which is not collected nor made any use of at the present 

 day. Rheede observes, however, that it is emetic and purgative, so that it would 

 appear to have been formerly of medicinal value. From the seeds is expressed a 

 greenish -coloured OIL, known as Pinnay or Dqmba Oil. According to some the 

 yield is as great as 60 per cent, by weight, and the oil is said to congeal when cooled 

 below 50. The seeds are collected twice a year, in August and again in February. 

 The oil possesses a disagreeable odour and flavour, but is fairly extensively used 

 for burning, and is valued, especially in Polynesia, as an external application in 

 rheumatic affections. Mixed with chaulmagra oil (p. 1068) is also employed for ex- 

 anthematous eruptions. In Pondicherry the oil is believed to be very useful 

 in the treatment of scabies, a property specially mentioned by Rheede in 1686, and 

 again by Rumphius in 1750. The chief centres of production are Bombay, 

 Goa, Travancore, Tinnevelly, Tanjore, Puri, etc. It is said to fetch a little 

 more than half the price of cocoanut oil and is fairly extensively exported from 

 India to Burma. The oils of c. toinetitoeum and c. Wiuiitiaiitun are 

 similarly expressed from the seeds, but do not differ in properties and uses from 

 that of c. iin>i>iii/iii<tn. Rumphius affirms that in his day the bark was 

 boiled down along with that of a plant which he named Sideroxylon, and the 

 decoction given as a purgative ; he also states that warriors carried a little bottle 

 of the oil by their sides and smeared it on their spears and bolts, believing that 

 they were thereby more likely to pierce the objects against which they were thrust. 



The TIMBER is moderately hard and close-grained, and by Sebert (Lea Bois 

 de la Nouvelle Caledonie) is believed to be magnificent for cabinet-work. All 

 the species, and in particular the Poon Spar a. tomentosum, are highly 

 serviceable for masts, spars, railway-sleepers, machinery, etc., but for these 

 purposes are much less in demand than formerly. Linschoten ( Voy. E. Ind. (ed. 

 Hakl. Soc.), i., 67) alludes to the "long masts for shippes " sold at Cananor, 

 and Hamilton (Neiv Ace. E. Ind., 1744, i., 267) says the Poon-masts are heavier 

 and stronger than fir. They are sometimes employed, especially c. /. .;i/" """"" 

 in boat-building. [Cf. Elliot, Fl. Andh., 1859, 155, 160 ; Moodeen Sheriff, Mat. 



204 



