Boswellia serrata

Family:Burseraceae
 Scientific name:
Boswellia serrata
 Tamil name:
Kungli maram
 English name:
Indian olibanum tree
 Hindi name:
Salai tree
 Distribution:

India – from foot hills of Himalayas to

Rajasthan ,Gujarat , Madhya Pradesh ,Bihar
Orissa ,Andhra Pradesh and further south.
Absent in N.E India and Western ghats.
 Habit:
 Moderate- large sized tree with spreading
crown.
 Height 9-15 m, bole length – 3 to 4.5 m,

girth – 1.2 to 2.4 m.

 Light demander, intolerant to shade,
drought resistant and fire resistant.
The bark is greenish grey,fairly thick, peeling
off in the papery flakes,resinous inside.
Leaves - imparipinnate, alternate, 30-40
cm long.
Flowers – Small ,white in short racemes.
Fruits – 12mm long, with 3 one seeded
pyrenes.
Seeds compressed ,hard and winged.
Soil requirement:
Grows well in sand stone, gneiss, mica – schist,
limestone, shale and quartzite soils.
Rainfall:
500 – 1250mm.
Temperature:
40 – 47.5ºc.
Altitude:
Upto 1150 m.
Phenology:
Flowering:
January to april
Fruiting:
May to june.
Nursery techniques:
Seeds/g: 14 – 15 seeds.
Seeds are collected during May to June.
Freshly collected seeds are used for
sowing.
The seeds should be immersed in water to
separate the healthy seeds from the aborted
seeds.
 The seedlings can be raised in polythene
bags filled with a mixture of loamy soil and
decomposed FYM.
Rarely raised in nursery beds.
Germination percentage: 48.5%
Plant percentage: 19.5%
Planting techniques:
Direct sowing:
The soil is worked and pits of about 25-
35cm deep pits are made.
Pit size: generally 45*45 cm.
Seeds are sown in the pits.
Spacing : Depends on the terrain and
availability of the soil.
From cuttings:
It has the ability to sprout from large stem
or cuttings.
Shoot with 2m – 2.5 m long, of 45 cm girth
and root 30 cm long will grow successfully.
Cultural operations:
Soil working and intense weeding is
necessary in initial years.
Irrigation is required in initial years.
Rotation & yield:
Net rotation: 40 years
Yield:
85m^3 of wood /ha
A grown well tree of about 90 cm in girth
yields about 2-2.5 kg of gum – oleo resin in a
year.
 Importance:
Wood:
 Timber- fairly durable.
 Use in cheap furniture, packing cases,boat
mats, boxes etc.
Pulpwood:
 Production of newsprint in mixture with
bamboo.
 Leaves are used as fodder.
 Gum oleo resin use as incense
 Its resin is used in the manufacture of soaps,
paints and varnishes.
THANK YOU