Siam Villa Garden: The Mast Tree or False Ashoka

English Name: The Mast Tree or False Ashoka

Scientific Name: Polyalthia Longifolia

Family: Annonaceae

Thai Name: ต้นอโศกอินเดีย

Native in: India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia

It is native to southern India and Sri Lanka, but has been widely introduced elsewhere in tropical Asia. This evergreen tree is known to grow over 20 m. in height and is commonly planted due to its effectiveness in alleviating noise pollution. It exhibits symmetrical pyramidal growth with willowy weeping pendulous branches and long narrow lanceolate leaves with undulate margins.

The leaves are used for ornamental decoration during festivals. The tree is a focal point in gardens throughout India. The tree can be pruned into various shapes and maintained in required sizes. Once, the flexible, straight and light-weight trunks were used in the making of masts for sailing ships. Thus, the tree is also known as the Mast Tree. Today, its wood is mostly used for manufacturing small articles such as pencils, boxes, matchsticks, etc. The oil of the seed has been confirmed to possess anti-oxidant, anti-lipooxygenase and antimicrobial (against various microbe strains) activities, among others. Bankole et al 2016 find M. longifolium does control chloroquine resistant strains of Plasmodium berghei ANKA in mouse to some degree but is not an effective treatment.

Methanolic extracts of Monoon longifolium have yielded 20 known and two new organic compounds, some of which show cytotoxic properties. The fatty acid composition of the seed has also been reported.